Description
Family Serranidae
Distribution: Tropical and temperate oceans. Some enter freshwater . Operculum bearing 3 spines - a main spine with one below and one above it. Lateral line complete and continuous, not reaching onto caudal fin (lacking in one species). Dorsal fin may be notched , with 7-12 spines. Three spines on anal fin. Caudal fin usually rounded , truncate , or lunate ; rarely forked . Tip of maxilla exposed even with mouth closed . No scaly axillary pelvic process . One spine on pelvic fin; soft rays 5. Branchiostegal rays usually 7. Vertebrae 24-26. Monoecious with some functional hermaphrodites ; groupers are protogynous hermaphrodites. Anthiinae are mostly small colorful planktivores feeding primarily on tiny crustaceans and fish eggs . They change sex from females to a few dominant males. Despite their attractive colors they need zooplankton as food and are thus not well suited for aquariums . Groupers attain up to 3 m maximum length and weights of up to 400 kg . They are bottom-dwelling predators and highly commercial food fish . Groupers are hardy aquarium fish, but grow rapidly. Grammistinae get their name from a bitter tasting skin toxin , grammistin, which can kill other animals in an aquarium. They feed on crustaceans and fishes .The family Serranidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 62 genera and 449 species. It may be found in Marine , Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Marine. Many members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is subcarangiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Etymology of this family name : Latin, serranus = derived from saw, fish saw. 1803
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
()
- (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Phylum:
Chordata
()
- Bateson, 1885
- Chordates
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
()
- Cuvier, 1812
- Vertebrates
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
()
- Auct.
- Jawed Vertebrates
- Superclass:
Osteichthyes
()
- Huxley, 1880
- Bony Fishes
- Class:
Actinopterygii
()
- Huxley, 1880
- Ray-Finned Fishes
- Subclass:
Actinopterygii
()
- Ray-Finned Fishes
- Infraclass:
Actinopteri
()
- Cohort:
Clupeocephala
()
- Superorder:
Acanthopterygii
()
- Order:
Perciformes
()
-
- Suborder:
Percoidei
()
-
- Family:
Serranidae
()
- Sea Basses and Groupers
- Subfamily:
Serraninae
()
- Genus:
Centropristis
()
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Specific name:
atrarius
- Scientific name: - Centropristis atrarius
- Specific name:
atrarius
- Genus:
Centropristis
(
- Subfamily:
Serraninae
(
- Family:
Serranidae
(
- Suborder:
Percoidei
(
- Order:
Perciformes
(
- Superorder:
Acanthopterygii
(
- Cohort:
Clupeocephala
(
- Infraclass:
Actinopteri
(
- Subclass:
Actinopterygii
(
- Class:
Actinopterygii
(
- Superclass:
Osteichthyes
(
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
(
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
(
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
(
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Centropristis
There are approximately 30 species in this genus:
C. annularis · C. atrarius · C. atrobranchus · C. aurorubens · C. ayresi · C. brasiliensis · C. dispilurus · C. fasciculare · C. fuscula (Twospot Sea Bass) · C. hepatus · C. hirundinaceus · C. investigatoris · C. macrophthalmus · C. macropoma · C. melana · C. melanus · C. merus · C. nebulosus · C. nigricans · C. ocyurus (Bank Sea Bass) · C. philadelphica (Rock Sea Bass) · C. philadelphicus · C. phoebe · C. pleurospilus · C. rufus · C. saponaceus · C. striata (Black Scorpionfish) · C. striatus (Black Sea Bass) · C. striatus melanus · C. subligarius
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