Plectropomus laevis, Blacksaddled coralgrouper : fisheries, gamefish

You can sponsor this page

Plectropomus laevis (Lacepède, 1801)

Blacksaddled coralgrouper
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Plectropomus laevis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Videos | Google image
Image of Plectropomus laevis (Blacksaddled coralgrouper)
Plectropomus laevis
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Serranoidei (Groupers) > Epinephelidae (Groupers)
Etymology: Plectropomus: Greek,plektron = anything to strike with, spur + Greek, poma = cover, operculum (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Lacepède.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 4 - 100 m (Ref. 6390). Tropical; 30°N - 33°S, 33°E - 134°W (Ref. 5222)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: Kenya to Delagoa Bay, Mozambique, eastward to the Tuamoto Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Queensland, Australia and including most islands of the Indian Ocean and of western and central Pacific. Unknown in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Misidentified as Plectropomus maculatus by some authors (Ref. 6448, 6892).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 60 - ? cm
Max length : 125 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573); common length : 84.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 37816); max. published weight: 24.2 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 7 - 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-12; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A voracious piscivore inhabiting coral-rich areas of lagoon and seaward reefs. Encountered most frequently in channels and outer shelf reefs. Migrate over short distances to spawn, forming large aggregations, maybe 1 or 2 per reef (Ref. 6390). Feeds mostly on fishes, and occasionally on crustaceans (Ref. 9710). The prey comprises a variety of large reef fishes, including groupers, and this diet of large fishes is responsible for the high concentrations of ciguatera toxins. Juveniles may mimic the pufferfish Canthigaster valentini. Usually wary (Ref. 9710). The young have a demersal existence in shallow water in reef habitats, especially around coral rubble (Ref. 27259). They feed on small fish and invertebrates such as crustaceans and squid (Ref. 27261). Eggs float just below the surface (Ref. 6390). The pelagic larvae are found in habitats similar to those of the adults (Ref. 27260). An excellent table fish (Ref. 6390).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall, 1993. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (family Serranidae, subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(16):382 p. (Ref. 5222)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 21 November 2016

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 1602)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 25.5 - 28.9, mean 27.6 °C (based on 276 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5078   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00609 - 0.01643), b=3.07 (2.93 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.57 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (61 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 20.8 [13.2, 35.1] mg/100g; Iron = 0.482 [0.266, 0.777] mg/100g; Protein = 18.7 [16.9, 20.3] %; Omega3 = 0.133 [0.090, 0.206] g/100g; Selenium = 47.6 [28.5, 84.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 76.1 [28.9, 230.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.698 [0.493, 0.988] mg/100g (wet weight);