Dusky grouper

About this species

Epinephelus marginatus, the dusky grouper, yellowbelly rock cod, or yellowbelly grouper, is a species of fish in the grouper family, Epinephelidae. It is found in coastal waters, primarily at the edges of the Atlantic Ocean – off western Africa and eastern South America – and also in the Indian Ocean around South Africa, Madagascar and Réunion, and throughout the Mediterranean.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Epinephelus marginatus”, 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: 936 records
February: 819 records
March: 1,115 records
April: 1,193 records
May: 803 records
June: 1,067 records
July: 2,120 records
August: 2,762 records
September: 1,553 records
October: 924 records
November: 595 records
December: 624 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–20 m · Deepest record: 100 m

0–10 m: 2,122 records
10–20 m: 1,257 records
20–30 m: 462 records
30–40 m: 31 records
40–50 m: 5 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 17–25 °C

16–18 °C: 9 records
18–20 °C: 130 records
20–22 °C: 220 records
22–24 °C: 233 records
24–26 °C: 5 records

Photos

(c) Fábio Olmos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) jeyre, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Michael Bommerer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Katerina Kalogerini, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Michael Bommerer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Chris Taklis, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Dusky grouper, Dusky perch, Brown Perch, dusky grouper, Dusky grouper, Dusky Perch, dusky perch, Dusky sea perch, Yellow Belly, yellowbelly rockcod

Names in 4 more languages

German: brauner Zackenbarsch, Riesen-Zackenbarsch
Spanish: chernia marrón, garopa, mero, Mero de Vientre Amarillo, mero moreno, Mero moreno, mero nebuloso
French: Cabot noir, Merou Brun, Mérou brun, Mérou brun, Mérou noir, mérou noir, Mérou noir, mérou sombre
Simplified Chinese: 烏鰭石斑魚

Other scientific names: Cerna gigas, Cernua gigas, Epinephelus brachysoma, Epinephelus gigas, Epinephelus guaza, Holocentrus gigas, Mycteroperca marginata, Perca gigas, Serranus aspersus, Serranus cernioides, Serranus fimbriatus, Serranus gigas, Serranus marginatus

Similar species

Kelp Grouper
Epinephelus bruneus
Blacktip grouper
Epinephelus fasciatus
Honeycomb grouper
Epinephelus merra
Catface grouper
Epinephelus andersoni
Areolate grouper
Epinephelus areolatus
Brown-spotted Rock-cod
Epinephelus bilobatus

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).
12,280 open-data records from 1834 to 2026.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.