Species/Notes of Interest to Aquarists:
To a number, all seven members of this genus are large, predatory
animals. Still, a small number make their way, as very small juveniles,
into the trade each year. Keep your eyes open.
| Plectropomus areolatus (Ruppell 1830), the
Squaretail Grouper. Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea but not
Australia. To twenty nine inches in length. An adult in the Red Sea. |
|
| Plectropomus laevis (Lacepede 1801), the
Blacksaddled Coral Grouper. Indo-Pacific, but not the Red Sea, out
to the Tuamotus. To four feet in length. The most, and only
commonly imported member of the genus collected for aquarium use.
Cute when small... Juvenile and adult off Queensland,
Australia. |
 
|
| Plectropomus leopardus (Lacepede 1802), the
Leopard Coral Grouper. Western Pacific. To forty six inches in
length. Juvenile (about six inches) in Australia and semi-adult one
in Fiji, from where they're occasionally exported. |
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Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked
to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images
to go to the larger size. |
|
|
| Plectropomus maculatus (Boch 1790), the
Spotted Coral Grouper. Western Pacific. To three feet in
length. This one off of Pulau Redang, Malaysia. |
|
| Plectropomus pessuliferus (Fowler 1904), the
Roving Coral Grouper. Indo Pacific; Red Sea, Zanzibar Sumatra,
Fiji. Two subspecies. P. p. marisburi in the Red Sea, P.
p. pessuliferus in the rest of the Indo-Pacific. Here is the
subspecies of the Red Sea. |
 
|
| Plectropomus truncatus now synonymous with
P. areolatus. |
.JPG)