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Mycteroperca interstitialis (Poey, 1860)

Yellowmouth grouper
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Mycteroperca interstitialis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Mycteroperca interstitialis (Yellowmouth grouper)
Mycteroperca interstitialis
Picture by Wirtz, P.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) > Epinephelidae (Groupers)
Etymology: Mycteroperca: Greek, mykter, -eros = nose + Greek, perke = perch (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Poey.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 150 m (Ref. 5222), usually 2 - 35 m (Ref. 40849). Subtropical; 33°N - 28°S, 98°W - 28°W (Ref. 5222)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda, Caribbean (mainly insular localities), and Brazil.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 84.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 10.2 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 41 years (Ref. 36872)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 16 - 18; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12. Distinguished by the following characteristics: Tan to brown above, paler below; upper parts of head and most of body usually have small, brown, close-set spots; sometimes uniformly brown. Adults have exerted rays that are even and about equal in length; 23-27 total gill rakers (Ref. 26938); depth of body 3.0-3.4 times in SL; head length 2.8-3.0 times in SL; angular preopercle, enlarged serrae on prominent lobe at the angle and a distinct notch above the serrate lobe; greatly enlarged posterior nostrils in adults (Ref. 89707).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found mainly on rocky or coral bottoms from the shoreline to at least 55 m depth; small and middle-sized individuals commonly occur in mangrove-lined lagoons. Feeds on fishes. Sex-reversal observed (Ref. 5521). More common in island waters than along the coast (Ref. 26938). The tricolored pattern of the juveniles mimics that of the juveniles of the clown wrasse, Halichoeres maculipinna. The aggressive mimic’s behavior includes folding down the median and caudal fins, which adds to its wrasse imitation and allows it to approach its otherwise wary prey (Ref. 43465). Marketed fresh; flesh is of good quality.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Pelagic spawner (Ref. 32199).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall, 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. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(16):382 p. (Ref. 5222)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A4bd); Date assessed: 21 November 2016

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Publication: search | FIRMS - Stock assessments | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
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References
References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 23.3 - 28, mean 26.4 °C (based on 460 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00646 (0.00395 - 0.01056), b=3.05 (2.92 - 3.18), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.5   ±0.8 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.06; tmax=41).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (67 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 12.7 [7.2, 26.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.445 [0.222, 0.786] mg/100g; Protein = 19.2 [17.4, 20.9] %; Omega3 = 0.22 [0.13, 0.39] g/100g; Selenium = 20.6 [9.7, 42.8] μg/100g; VitaminA = 86.4 [25.1, 331.4] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.542 [0.353, 0.817] mg/100g (wet weight);