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From: Malcolm Francis
Date: 08-03-08
Time: 08:08
Hi Wade > > This fish is definitely not a hapuku or the closely related bass. It is an > Epinephelus grouper. We have a number of groupers in northeastern NZ, the > commonest being the spotted black grouper (E. daemelii). The fish in open > water definitely is an SBG, but the one in the cave is hard to identify > since only parts of it are visible, but I think it is also an SBG. The > black > spot on the caudal peduncle, and fins with white/black margins are > characteristic of this species. The only other possibility is the convict > grouper (Epinephelus octofasciatus), but it tends to have very distinct > bands on the body, and a dark band rather than a spot on the caudal > peduncle. But convict groupers can also have white fin margins like SBGs. > Convicts live much deeper than SBG though have been recorded as shallow as > 40 m overseas. In NZ they tend to be caught on deep longlines. > > So my best bet is that both of Simon's fish are SBGs. Colour pattern in > this > species is highly variable with changes happening rapidly. And their > behaviour can vary quite a lot too. These are consistent with Simon's > observations. > > Cheers > > Malcolm
Last changed: 08-Mar-2008