Epinephelus kupangensis

Osteichthyes Serranidae Genus Epinephelus Epinephelus kupangensis

Kupang grouper

Size unknown. Source: © S. Tucker.

Characteristic features:

Colour:

Head and body pale greyish brown with four dark brown bars on body and a fifth dark brown bar on caudal peduncle; orange-brown to black-brown spots along edges of bars and on head; no spots below mid-body or on fins.

Size:

Up to 32 cm SL.

Distribution:

Indo–West Pacific in tropical waters.

Habitat:

Found in deep water over banks and the continental shelf from 50 to 350 m depth.

Indonesian fisheries:

Caught with deep drop lines.

Similar species:

Epinephelus amblycephalus
Banded grouper

Epinephelus amblycephalus differs in having a dark saddle on the nape created by a bifurcation of the pale bar resulting in a distinct “U’” or “V” (vs. no saddle on nape); usually with small black dots on the dark bars (vs. larger black spots); a yellow maxillary streak (vs. orange to black) and edge of fins yellowish (vs. brown).

to Epinephelus amblycephalus

Epinephelus sexfasciatus
Sixbar grouper

Epinephelus sexfasciatus differs in having dark bars with lighter shades giving the appearance of a ‘double-bar’ (vs. bars more uniformly dark); spots on caudal fin (vs. plain) and a shorter head length, 2.4–2.6 in SL (vs. 2.0–2.3 in SL).

to Epinephelus sexfasciatus

Epinephelus stictus
Blackdotted grouper

Epinephelus stictus differs in haging brownish-black margins on soft dorsal and caudal fins (vs. no dark markings on fins) and small spots dorsolaterally within dark and light bars (vs. small dots within dark bars).

to Epinephelus stictus

External links:

FishBase
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species^TM