| Groupers | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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| Genera | ||||||||||||
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Alphestes Anyperidon Cephalopholis Cromileptes Dermatolepis Epinephelus Gonioplectrus Gracila Mycteroperca Niphon Paranthias Plectropomus Saloptia Triso Variola |
Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus and Mycteroperca. In addition, the species classifed in the small genera Anyperidon, Cromileptes, Dermatolepis, Gracila, Saloptia and Triso are also called groupers. Fish classified in the genus Plectropomus are referred to as coral groupers. These genera are all classified in the subfamily Epiphelinae. However, some of the hamlets (genus Alphestes), the hinds (genus Cephalopholis), the lyretails (genus Variola) and some other small genera (Gonioplectrus, Niphon, Paranthias) are also in this subfamily, and occasional species in other serranid genera have common names involving the word "grouper". Nonetheless, the word "groupers" on its own is usually taken as meaning the subfamily Epiphelanae.
Groupers typically have a stout body and a large mouth. They can be quite large, and lengths over a metre and weights up to 100Kg are not uncommon, though obviously in such a large group species vary considerably. Many groupers are important food fish, and some of them are now farmed. Many species are popular fish for sea-angling. Some species are small enough to be kept in aquaria, though even the small species are inclined to grow rapidly.
Species of grouper with more information available in Wikipedia include: