Epinephelus aeneus (E. GEOFFROY SAINT-HILAIRE, 1817 )

Heemstra, P. C., 1991, A Taxonomic Revision Of The Eastern Atlantic Groupers (Pisces: Serranidae), Bol. Mus. Mun. Funchal 43 (226), pp. 5-71 : 20-22

Epinephelus aeneus (E. GEOFFROY SAINT-HILAIRE, 1817)

Fig. 5

Serranus aeneus E. GEOFFROY SAINT-HILAIRE, 1817 : Pl. 21, Fig. 3 (description by I. GEOFFROY SAINT-HILAIRE, 1827: 317; type locality, Mediterranean coast of Egypt; holotype MNHN 6326 (266 mm.) DAMIETTE); GÜNTHER, 1859: 134; STEINDACHNER, 1882: 21, Pl. 2, Fig. 1 ; FOWLER, 1936: 756.

? Perca robusta COUCH, 1832: 21 , Fig 7 (type locality, Cornwall, England; holotype not preserved?)

Serranus gigas : DAY, 1880: 16, Pl. 5 (in part).

Cerna aenea : DODERLEIN, 1882: 201, Pl. 2, Fig. 3 .

Epinephelus aeneus : BOULENGER, 1895: 222; CADENAT, 1951: 191, Fig. 120; POLL, 1954: 50, Fig. 14; TORTONESE, 1973; SÉRET, 1981: 154.

Additional references are given by FOWLER (1936), BRUSLÉ (1985) and HEEMSTRA and RANDALL (1992).

Diagnosis: Dorsal fin XI, 14- 16; anal fin III,7-9; pectoral fin rays 18- 19; lateral-line scales 67- 72; lateral scale series 98- 102; gill-rakers 8-10 + 15 - 17 including 4-8 rudiments on each limb. Body depth distinctly less than head length, contained 3.0- 3.6 times in SL; head length 2.5-2.9 times in SL; pectoral fins longer than pelvics, 1.5 - 1.9 times in head length; pelvic fins 1.8-2.0 times in head length for fish 10-20 cm. SL. Caudal fin rounded; dorsal fin with the third or fourth spine longest and the interspinous membranes only slightly incised. Interorbital area convex; preopercle angular, with 3-6 large spines at the angle, the lowermost directed ventrally; maxilla reaches about to vertical at rear edge of eye; midlateral part of lower jaw with 2 rows of teeth; rear nostrils slightly bigger than front ones. Eye diameter equals interorbital width in fish of 20-25 cm. SL and is distinctly less than the interorbital width in larger specimens. Lateral body scales distinctly ctenoicl, with auxiliary scales. Pyloric caeca 12- 14.

Colour: Greenish bronze, the fins darker, brownish violet, bordered with white or pale mauve; 2 or 3 pale blue (or white) lines across operculum, the lowest from rear end of maxilla to interopercle, the next from eye across preopercle just above the angle and onto subopercle, the uppermost line from eye to upper end of preopercle where it usually bifurcates and continues to rear edge of operculum. Juveniles with faint dark spots on body forming 5 indistinct dark bars; fins also with faint dark spots. In large adults the white lines on the head may be indistinct.

Maximum size: 120 cm. total length, weight 25 kg.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRBUTION

E. aeneus occurs throughout the Mediterranean and along the west coast of Africa to southern Angola; also reported from the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands. The seasonal migration of E. aeneus off the coast of Sénégal is influenced by the seasonal upwellirıgs off Sénégal and Mauritania ( CURY & ROY, 1988). The description of Perca robusta COUCH (1832) was based on a fish "3 ft. in length" that was caught off the south coast of England, but E. aeneus does not normally occur in British waters.

REMARKS

Adults are found on rocky or mud and sand bottoms in depths of 20-200 m.; juveniles have been taken in coastal lagoons and estuaries. BRUSLÉ (1985) summarized the published information on the ecology, distribution and biology of this species.

Perca robusta COUCH, 1832 was listed as a synonym of " Epinephelus guaza " [= E. marginatus ] by C.L. SMITH (1971). In his original description, COUCH (1832: 21) gives the length of his holotype as 3 feet and the body depth as 7 inches (depth 5.1 in total length). The original illustration of Perca robusta is a somewhat crude and diagrammatic woodcut, with the body depth contained 3.3 times in the total length. Although the fin counts given by COUCH (dorsal fin with 11 spines and 16 rays; anal with 2 spines [the small first spine was probably overlooked] and 8 rays; pectoral fin rays 19) fit E. marginatus , the body depth of "7 inches" is much too small for a 3 -ft fish (the depth would be at least 9 inches in a marginatus this size). A more likely candidate for P. robusta is Epinephelııs aeneus , which is more elongate than marginatus (body depth 3.0-3.6 times in SL, versus 2.6-3.1 in SL) and has virtually the same fin counts. Unlike E. marginatus, E. aeneus has 2 or 3 oblique, pale blue or white stripes across the operculum, and COUCH (1867: 199) mentioned "Two slightly marked pale lines on the gill-covers, one on each plate, running obliquely downward. “ The description and illustration of Serranus gigas in The Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland by DAY (1880) is based on E. aeneus , but his synonyrny applies mainly to E. marginatus . DAY’s figure (1880: Pl. 5) was done from a specimen supplied by W.C.H. PETERS of the Berlin Museum. No locality or length was given for this fish, but judging from the size of the eye, it was probably about 20 cm. SL. The ratio of SL/body depth taken from the drawing is 3.4, which is well outside the range for E. marginatus , but Within the range for E. aeneus . DAY’s illustration also shows two faint pale bands running backwards across the cheek, as seen on some faded preserved specimens of E. aeneus . CADENAT (1935) clearly distinguished E. marginatus [as " Epinephelus gigas "] from E. aeneus , and he listed DAY’s (1880) account of Serranus gigas in the synonymy of E. aeneus ; but he inexplicably used DAY's (1880: Pl. 5) illustration of E. aeneus as if it were Epinephelus gigas .

MATERIAL EXAMINED

NIGERIA: MNHN 1896-354 (207 mm); MNHN 1896-355 (126 mm.). BENIN: MNHN 1967-946 (3, 125- 152 mm.).

Figures

Fig. 5 - Epinephelus aeneus, 136 mm. SI.. Sénégal. from STEINDACHNER, 1882.

Fig. 3 - Cephalopholis taeniops, 16 cm. SL, Sénégal, from STEINDACHNER, 1882.

Fig. 1 - Diagramatic illustration of a grouper's head to show method of measuring maxilla width (MW); UL =upper lip; SM=supramaxilla.

Fig. 7 - Epinephelus coioides, 33 cm. SL, Persian Gulf, from photograph of J. E. RANDALL.