Mycteroperca tigris

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

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Description

Family Serranidae

Distribution: Tropical and temperate oceans. Some enter freshwater . Operculum bearing 3 spines - a main spine with one below and one above it. Lateral line complete and continuous, not reaching onto caudal fin (lacking in one species). Dorsal fin may be notched , with 7-12 spines. Three spines on anal fin. Caudal fin usually rounded , truncate , or lunate ; rarely forked . Tip of maxilla exposed even with mouth closed . No scaly axillary pelvic process . One spine on pelvic fin; soft rays 5. Branchiostegal rays usually 7. Vertebrae 24-26. Monoecious with some functional hermaphrodites ; groupers are protogynous hermaphrodites. Anthiinae are mostly small colorful planktivores feeding primarily on tiny crustaceans and fish eggs . They change sex from females to a few dominant males. Despite their attractive colors they need zooplankton as food and are thus not well suited for aquariums . Groupers attain up to 3 m maximum length and weights of up to 400 kg . They are bottom-dwelling predators and highly commercial food fish . Groupers are hardy aquarium fish, but grow rapidly. Grammistinae get their name from a bitter tasting skin toxin , grammistin, which can kill other animals in an aquarium. They feed on crustaceans and fishes .The family Serranidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 62 genera and 449 species. It may be found in Marine , Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Marine. Many members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is subcarangiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Etymology of this family name : Latin, serranus = derived from saw, fish saw. 1803

Habitat

A solitary species (Ref. 26340) occurring in coral reefs and rocky areas.

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -4,927 meters (0 to -16,165 feet).Mean = 314.750 meters (1,032.644 feet), Standard Deviation = 3,489.680 based on 8 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Saltwater . Reef-associated .

Ecology: It occurs in coral reefs and rocky areas and is an ambush predator (FishBase 2003). Spawning aggregations of several hundreds of fish take place approximately one week following each full moon during the months of January to April at the east of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico (Sadovy et al. 1994).

Tiger Grouper becomes sexually mature female between 25–35 cm total length (Sadovy et al. 1994). (Ref. 55345)


List of Habitats :9.1Marine Neritic - Pelagic 9.7Marine Neritic - Macroalgal/Kelp 9.8Marine Neritic - Coral Reef 10.1Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m)

Biology

Diet

It is considered an ambush predator that hides among the coral and sponges and is easy to approach. Frequents cleaning stations (Ref. 9710). Randall (Ref. 33) reported food of 59 specimens 15 to 57 cm SL were purely fishes of a variety of species.

Reproduction

The size versus sex distribution of Bermuda population indicates that this species is a protogynous hermaphrodite ; all fish less than 37 cm TL were females and all fish larger than 45 cm TL were males (Ref. 6886).

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Mycteroperca hopkinsi Jordan & Rutter, 1897
2. Mycteroperca tigris (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833)
3. Mycteroperca tigris (Valenciennes, 1833)
4. Serranus camelopardalis Poey, 1860
5. Serranus felinus Poey, 1860
6. Serranus repandus Poey, 1860
7. Serranus rivulatus Poey, 1860
8. Serranus tigris Valenciennes, 1833
9. Trisotropis reticulatus Gill, 1865

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Family : Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets .

Similar Species

Members of the genus Mycteroperca

There are approximately 34 species in this genus:

M. acutirostris (Comb Grouper) · M. apua · M. bonaci (Black Gouper) · M. bonaci xanthosticta · M. caliura · M. camelopardalis · M. cidi (Venezuelan Grouper) · M. dermopterus · M. falcata phenax · M. fusca (Comb Grouper) · M. interstitalis · M. interstitialis (Blake) · M. jordani (Grouper) · M. microlepis (Charcoal Belly) · M. nebulifer · M. olfax (Colorado Grouper) · M. perclara · M. phenax (Scamp) · M. prionura (Sawtail Grouper) · M. rosacea (Golden Grouper) · M. rubberina · M. ruber · M. ruberrima · M. rubra (Comb Grouper) · M. semicinctus · M. simonyi · M. sp · M. tigris (Gag) · M. urodelus · M. venenosa (Arigua) · M. venenosa apna · M. venenosa guttata (Arigua) · M. verenosa · M. xenarcha (Broomtail Grouper)

Bibliography

• Böhlke, J.E. and C.C.G. Chaplin (1993). Fishes of the Bahamas and adjacent tropical waters. 2nd edition. University of Texas Press, Austin.
• Claro, R. (1994). Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.
• Claro, Rodolfo, and Lynne R. Parenti / Claro, Rodolfo, Kenyon C. Lindeman, and L. R. Parenti, eds. 2001. Chapter 2: The Marine Ichthyofauna of Cuba. Ecology of the Marine Fishes of Cuba. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, DC, USA. 21-57. ISBN: 1-56098-985-8.
• Grana Rafucci, F. 1993. Catalogo de nomenclatura de los peces de Puerto Rico y las Islas Virgenes. 2da edicion. Departamento de Recursos Naturales, Puerto Rico 201 pp,
• Heemstra, P.C. and Randall, J.E. 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. FAO Fisheries Synopsis. No. 125, Vol. 16. Rome, FAO.
• Heemstra, Phillip C. and John E. Randall 1993. Groupers of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of the Grouper, Rockcod, Hind, Coral Grouper, and Lyretail Species Known to Date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis (125), Vol. 16. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy. ISBN: 92-5-103125-8.
• Luckhurst, B.E. 1996. Trends in commercial fishery landings of groupers and snappers in Bermuda from 1975 to 1992 and associated fishery management issues. [Tendencias en los desembarques de la pesqueria commercial de meros y pargos en Bermuda, de 1975 a 1992 y aspectos asociados al manejo de la pesueris]. pp. 277-288. In: F. Arreguin-Sánchex, J.L. Munro, M.C. Balgos and D. Pauly (eds.) Biology, Fisheries and Culture of Tropical Groupers and Snapers. ICLARM Conference Proceedings 48, 449p.
• Luckhurst, B.E. 2003. Development of a Caribbean Regional Conservation Strategy for Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations. 54th Annual Meeting of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, pp. 668-679.
• Matos, D. & Padilla, W. 1995. Description of the tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris) fishery of Vieques Puerto Rico, during 1995. Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
• Matos, D. & Posada, J. (1998). Current status of the tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris) fishery at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 51: 182-194.
• Matos, D. & Padilla, W. 1995. Description of the tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris) fishery of Vieques Puerto Rico, during 1995. Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
• Matos, D. & Posada, J. (1998). Current status of the tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris) fishery at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 51: 182-194.
• Matos, D. 1997. Status of the groupers in Puerto Rico, 1970-1995. Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 49:340-353.
• Ogden, J.C., J.A. Yntema, and I. Clavijo (1975). An annotated list of the fishes of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Spec. Publ. No. 3.
• Reef Environmental Education Foundation. 2003. Tropical Eastern Pacific Distribution Reports. Online reports (Accessed: 12 July 2003).
• Robins, Richard C., Reeve M. Bailey, Carl E. Bond, James R. Brooker, Ernest A. Lachner, et al. 1980. A List of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada, Fourth Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, no. 12. American Fisheries Society. Bethesda, Maryland, USA. 174.
• Sadovy, Y., Colin, P.L. & Domeier, M.L. 1994. Aggregation and spawning in the tiger grouper, Mycteroperca tigris. Copeia 1994: 511-516.
• Sadovy, Y., Colin, P.L. & Domeier, M.L. 1994. Aggregation and spawning in the tiger grouper, Mycteroperca tigris. Copeia 1994: 511-516.
• Smith, C.L. (1997). National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
• White, D.B., Wyanski, D.M., Eleby, B.M. & Lilyestrom, C.G. 2002. Tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris): Profile of a spawning aggregation. Bulletin of Marine Science 70(1): 233-240.

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Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 3, 2006.
• Garcia-Moliner, G. (Grouper & Wrasse Specialist Group) 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Garcia-Moliner, G. 2004. Mycteroperca tigris. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 October 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 01, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 3 providers.
• Heemstra, Phillip C. (from FishBase).
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 01, 2008:

• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
• Royal Ontario Museum: Fish specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2496888
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-23651
• Fishbase Species ID: 1215
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 109737
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 167767
• IUCN ID: 44682
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 117157

Footnotes

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