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Coral grouper

Epinephelus corallicola

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth0–15 m
  • Water temperature25–30 °C
  • Best monthsMay
  • How commonRare
All species

Photo credit: (c) Ro Hill, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Epinephelus corallicola, also known as the black-dotted cod, coral cod, coral rockcod, coral grouper, or duskyfin grouper, 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 has an Indo-Pacific distribution and is found in marine and brackish waters.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Epinephelus corallicola”, 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: 17 records
  • February: 14 records
  • March: 21 records
  • April: 18 records
  • May: 63 records
  • June: 19 records
  • July: 17 records
  • August: 36 records
  • September: 32 records
  • October: 16 records
  • November: 22 records
  • December: 13 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–15 m · Deepest record: 27.4 m

  • 0–10 m: 58 records
  • 10–20 m: 10 records
  • 20–30 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C

  • 24–26 °C: 52 records
  • 26–28 °C: 50 records
  • 28–30 °C: 92 records

Names and classification

English
Coral grouper, Coral Rock-cod, Coral Rockcod, Duskyfin Grouper
Names in 5 more languages
Spanish
Mero De Coral
Filipino
Lapu Lapu
French
Mérou corail, Merou Coral
Japanese
Hiregurihata, Hoshihiregurohata, ホシヒレグロハタ
Simplified Chinese
珊瑚石斑魚, 珊瑚石斑鱼, 白目仔, 白馬鱠仔, 石斑, 過魚, 黑虎麻, 黑駁石斑魚

Other scientific names: Epinephelus coralicola, Serranus altivelioides, Serranus corallicola

Similar species

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).
  • 334 open-data records from 1828 to 2023.
  • Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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