Mycteroperca rubra
Comb Grouper
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Serranidae (Sea Basses and Groupers)
Mycteroperca
Mycteroperca rubra (Comb Grouper)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Distinguished by the following characteristics: usually reddish brown, sometimes mottled with black or pale grey spots with black streak above maxilla; juveniles with black saddle blotch on peduncle; oblong body, compressed, depth contained 2.8-3.2 times in SL; head length 2.5-2.7 in SL; convex interorbital area; enlarged serrae at angle of preopercle, forming rounded lobe set off by the indentation immediately above; nostrils subequal in juveniles, posterior nostrils about twice that of anterior ones in adults (Ref. 89707). Striking features: none.
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Portugal to southern Angola; reports from islands require confirmation. Specimens from Madeira, Azores, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde have been examined by Heemstra (1991, Ref. 6512) and are identified to be Mycteroperca fusca. Replaced by Mycteroperca acutirostris in the western Atlantic.
Habitat Associations
Marine. demersal. depth range 15-200 m.
Biology
Occurs over rocky and sandy bottoms; young individuals very common in mangrove-lined lagoons. Feeds on mollusks (presumably cephalopods) and small fishes (Ref. 89707). Marketed fresh.
Max length: 144.0 cm TL; common length: 80.0 cm TL; max weight: 49700 g.
Reproductive mode: protogyny; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2016-11-22. Resilience: Very low (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall (1993) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(16):382 p.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Craig, M.T., YJ. Sadovy de Mitcheson and P.C. Heemstra (2011) Groupers of the world: a field and market guide. North America: CRC Press/Taylor and Francis Group, xix, 356 p., A47 pages appendix. DOI: 10.1201-/9780429087899
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