The mottled grouper (Mycteroperca rubra) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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PlanktivoreA planktivore is an aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food, including zooplankton and phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are usually photosynthet...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe mottled grouper has an oblong, compressed body which has a depth which is less than the length of its head, its standard length is 2.8 to 3.2 times its depth. The preopercle has a serrated margin with the serrations being enlarged at its angle, where there is a rounded lobe below an incision into the margin. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 15-17 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 11-12 soft rays. The caudal fin is truncate in juveniles and subadults but it is concave in adults with a standard length of more than 50 centimetres (20 in). They are usually reddish brown in colour, often mottled with black or pale grey spots and having a black streak above the upper jaw. The juveniles have a black saddle blotch on the caudal peduncle. This species has a maximum published total length of 144 centimetres (57 in), although a more common total length is 80 centimetres (31 in), while the maximum published weight is 49.7 kilograms (110 lb).
The mottle grouper is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and parts of the Mediterranean Sea. In the eastern Atlantic, it is found from southern Portugal and Spain, along the western coast of Africa as far south as Angola. It was formerly found in the southern Mediterranean from southern Spain and Morocco to Egypt and Israel but it has been expanding its range and is now found as far north as Provence in France and the Adriatic Sea. It is absent from the Black Sea and records from the Macaronesian Islands are misidentifications of Island grouper (Mycteroperca fusca) and records from Brazil are similarly misidentifications of the comb grouper M. acutirostris.
The mottled grouper is a demersal species which occurs over rocky reefs and adjacent sandy substrates as deep as 200 metres (660 ft). It tens to be commoner at shallower depths from 1 to 30 metres (3.3 to 98.4 ft) in the eastern Mediterranean. It readily takes to artificial reefs such as shipwrecks off Sicily. Juveniles are usually found in shallower inshore waters. It feeds on molluscs and small fishes. It is a protogynous hermaphrodite, the transition from female to male happens when they are nine years oold and have attained a total length of 53 centimetres (21 in). The females reach sexual maturity at a total length of about 27 to 32 centimetres (11 to 13 in) around four and five years of age. Spawning aggregations have been recorded off Israel, Senegal, Turkey and Corsica.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...