Tiger Grouper

The tiger grouper has a body which is elongate, robust and compressed, its depth being the no greater at the origin of the dorsal fin as it is at the origin of the anal fin, and a large mouth. The standard length is 3.1 to 3.6 times the depth of the body. The preopercle is rounded and does not have a lobe at its angle. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 15-17 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 11 soft rays. The membranes between the dorsal fin spines are obviously notched. The caudal fin is a straight in juveniles and slightly concave in adults. The upper body is dark and there are 9 to 11 thin, pale oblique lines. It is capable of dramatic changes in colour, as well as lightening or darkening its colour. It can even sometimes be bright red in colour, particularly when being attended to by cleaner fish. The juveniles are yellow with a dusky line along the flanks. This species attains a total length of 101 centimetres (40 in), although they are commonly around 40 centimetres (16 in), and a maximum published weight of 10 kilograms (22 lb). Males have dark pectoral fins while females have orange pectoral fins.

The tiger grouper is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from southeastern Florida, Bermuda and the Bahamas, as well as the Flower Garden Banks in the north, southwards through the Caribbean Sea to the Maroni River in French Guiana. A disjunct population occurs in Brazil where they are found from Ceara State to Rio de Janeiro State.