
Coral grouper
Epinephelus corallicola
- Usual depth0–15 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsMay
- How commonRare
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
Loading the map
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
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Photos

(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Bernard DUPONT, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Micha Baum, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
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
Blacktip grouperEpinephelus fasciatus
Honeycomb grouperEpinephelus merra
Areolate grouperEpinephelus areolatus
GarrupaEpinephelus coeruleopunctatus
Orange-spotted grouperEpinephelus coioides
Brown-marbled grouperEpinephelus fuscoguttatus
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.
Log what you see on your next dive
The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.