Flowery Rockcod, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Forsskal, 1775)

ANIMAL SPECIES:Flowery Rockcod, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Forsskal, 1775)

The Flowery Rockcod is light yellowish brown with large irregular-shaped dark blotches on the head, back and sides. The species occurs on coral and rocky reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Alternative Name/s

Black Rock-cod, Brown-marbled Grouper, Brownmarbled Grouper, Carpet Cod, Carpet-cod, Flower Cod, Flower-cod, Flowery Cod

Identification

The Flowery Rockcod is light yellowish brown with large irregular-shaped dark blotches on the head, back and sides. The head, body and fins have small dark spots. There is a dark spot on the caudal peduncle.

Size range

The species grows to 90 cm in length.

Similar Species

The Flowery Rockcod is often confused with the Small-toothed Cod, Epinephelus polyphekadion. The latter species has more distinct oblique bands, a larger spot on the caudal peduncle and fewer pectoral fin rays (16 to 17 versus 18 to 20).

Distribution

It occurs on coral and rocky reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific. In Australia it is known from the north-western coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to southern Queensland.

Distribution by collection data

Biomaps map of Flowery Rockcod specimens in the Australian Museum collection.

What does this mean?

Classification

Species:: fuscoguttatus
Genus:: Epinephelus
Family:: Serranidae
Order:: Perciformes
Class:: Actinopterygii
Subphylum:: Vertebrata
Phylum:: Chordata
Kingdom:: Animalia

What does this mean?

References

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.

Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated: 21 September 2011

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