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Serranidae

{{short description|Family of fishes}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = {{Geological range|Paleocene|present}}

| image = Cromileptes altivelis - Paddelbarsch - Panther grouper.jpg

| image_caption = Humpback grouper, Cromileptes altivelis

| taxon = Serranidae

| authority = Swainson, 1839{{cite journal | author1 = Richard van der Laan | author2 = William N. Eschmeyer | author3 = Ronald Fricke | name-list-style = amp |year=2014 | title = Family-group names of Recent fishes | url = https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.3882.1.1/10480 | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3882 | issue =2 | pages = 001–230| doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 | pmid = 25543675 | doi-access = free }}

| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies

| subdivision = see text

| synonyms = Grammistidae Bleeker, 1857

}}

Serranidae is a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, in some cases less than {{convert|10|cm|abbr=on}}, the giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) is one of the largest bony fishes in the world, growing to {{convert|2.7|m|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|400|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight.{{FishBase | genus = Epinephelus | species = lanceolatus | month = October | year = 2016 }} Representatives of this group live in tropical and subtropical seas worldwide.

Characteristics

Many serranid species are brightly colored, and many of the larger species are caught commercially for food. They are usually found over reefs, in tropical to subtropical waters along the coasts. Serranids are generally robust in form, with large mouths and small spines on the gill coverings. They typically have several rows of sharp teeth, usually with a pair of particularly large, canine-like teeth projecting from the lower jaw.{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author= Randall, John E.|year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages= 195–199|isbn= 0-12-547665-5}}

All serranids are carnivorous. Although some species, especially in the Anthiadinae subfamily, only feed on zooplankton, the majority feed on fish and crustaceans. They are typically ambush predators, hiding in cover on the reef and darting out to grab passing prey. Their bright colours are most likely a form of disruptive camouflage, similar to the stripes of a tiger.

Many species are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning they start out as females and change sex to male later in life. They produce large quantities of eggs and their larvae are planktonic, generally at the mercy of ocean currents until they are ready to settle into adult populations.

Like other fish, serranids harbour parasites, including nematodes, cestodes, digeneans,{{cite journal | last1 = Cribb | first1 = T. H. | last2 = Bray | first2 = R. A. | last3 = Wright | first3 = T. | last4 = Pichelin | first4 = S. | year = 2002 | title = The trematodes of groupers (Serranidae: Epinephelinae): knowledge, nature and evolution | journal = Parasitology | volume = 124 | issue = 7 | pages = S23–S42 | doi=10.1017/s0031182002001671| pmid = 12396214 | s2cid = 12287737 }} monogeneans, isopods, and copepods. A study conducted in New Caledonia has shown that coral reef-associated serranids harbour about 10 species of parasites per fish species.{{cite journal | last1 = Justine | first1 = J.-L. | last2 = Beveridge | first2 = I. | last3 = Boxshall | first3 = G. A. | last4 = Bray | first4 = R. A. | last5 = Moravec | first5 = F. | last6 = Trilles | first6 = J.-P. | last7 = Whittington | first7 = I. D. | year = 2010 | title = An annotated list of parasites (Isopoda, Copepoda, Monogenea, Digenea, Cestoda and Nematoda) collected in groupers (Serranidae, Epinephelinae) in New Caledonia emphasizes parasite biodiversity in coral reef fish | journal = Folia Parasitologica | volume = 57 | issue = 4 | pages = 237–262 | doi = 10.14411/fp.2010.032 | pmid=21344838| doi-access = free }}

Classification

File:Pseudanthias.jpg, is small, colorful, planktivorous and social.]]

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File:Sixstriped soapfish grammistes sexlineatus.JPG produces a toxic mucus]]

In recent times{{when|date=March 2022}}, this family has been proposed to be split. The two hypothetical families emerging from the remains of the possibly-obsolete taxon are the families Epinephilidae and Anthiadidae. This taxonomic separation is recognized by some authorities{{who|date=March 2022}}, including the IUCN.{{cite web|url= https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?taxonomies=18061892&searchType=species | title=IUCN red list taxonomies.}}

Recent{{when|date=March 2022}} molecular classifications challenge the validity of the genera Cromileptes (sometimes spelled Chromileptes) and Anyperodon. Each of these two genera has a single species, which were included in the same clade as species of Epinephelus in a study based on five different genes.{{cite journal | last1 = Schoelinck | first1 = C. | last2 = Hinsinger | first2 = D. D. | last3 = Dettaï | first3 = A. | last4 = Cruaud | first4 = C. | last5 = Justine | first5 = J.-L. | year = 2014 | title = A phylogenetic re-analysis of groupers with applications for ciguatera fish poisoning | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 9 | issue = 8 | page = e98198 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0098198 | pmid=25093850 | pmc=4122351| bibcode = 2014PLoSO...998198S | doi-access = free }}

The subfamilies and genera are as follows:{{Cof family|family=Serranidae|access-date=25 May 2020}}{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages=446–448 |publisher=Wiley |isbn= 978-1-118-34233-6 |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ }}

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Notes

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References

  • {{FishBase family | family = Serranidae | month = October | year = 2016 }}
  • {{cite journal | last = Sepkoski | first = Jack | title = A compendium of fossil marine animal genera | journal = Bulletins of American Paleontology | volume = 364 |page=560 | year = 2002 | url = http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class | access-date = 2011-05-19 }}

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Category:Marine fish families

Category:Taxa named by William Swainson