Brown-spotted Rock-cod
Epinephelus bilobatus
- Usual depth4–85 m
- Water temperature25–28 °C
- Best monthsApril and September
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Epinephelus bilobatus, commonly known as the twin-spot groper or the frostback rockcod, a species of grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae. E. bilobatus is known from around northwestern Australia and from West Papua (Indonesia). Found in coral reefs and rocky bottom in depths of 4 to 50 m. It is characterized by its greyish-brown color overall with hexagonal brown spots. The maximum total length is 33 cm (13 in).
Text from the Wikipedia article “Epinephelus bilobatus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 3 records
- February: 2 records
- March: 3 records
- April: 9 records
- May: 6 records
- June: 4 records
- July: 6 records
- August: 4 records
- September: 14 records
- October: 4 records
- November: 8 records
- December: 1 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 4–85 m · Deepest record: 84.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–28 °C
Photos
(c) desertnaturalist, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Brown-spotted Rock-cod, Frostback Cod, frostback rockcod, twinspot grouper
Names in 3 more languages
- Spanish
- Mero De Pintas Gemelas
- French
- Merou Gemine
- Simplified Chinese
- 點鰭石斑魚
Similar species
Kelp GrouperEpinephelus bruneus
Blacktip grouperEpinephelus fasciatus
Dusky grouperEpinephelus marginatus
Honeycomb grouperEpinephelus merra
Catface grouperEpinephelus andersoni
Areolate grouperEpinephelus areolatus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 98 open-data records from 1959 to 2017.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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