Broomtail Wrasse [Cheilinus lunulatus]

male

female

Wikipedia has no article on Broomtail Wrasse. This is a shy solitary species living on coral rich reef flats.

Picture: Naama Bay & Ras Nasrani, Red Sea, Egypt by Sami Salmenkivi

 

Barred Thicklip Wrasse [Hemigymnus sexfasciatus]

Barred Thicklip Wrasse, Hemigymnus fasciatus. Wikipedia has no article on this Wrasse either, seems like the Wrasses are not favorited by the Wikipedians.

Picture: Tiran and Ras Mohammed, Red Sea, Egypt by Sami Salmenkivi

 

Black grouper [Mycteroperca bonaci]

The black grouper, Mycteroperca bonaci, is one of the best known of the large group of Perciform fish called groupers. The black grouper is a large marine fish, growing up to 150 centimetres in length and 100 kilograms in weight. It has an olive or gray body, with black blotches and brassy spots. The preopercle is gently rounded. It is associated with rocky or coral reefs but is not dependent on them; it is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean, from Massachusetts, USA, in the north to southern Brazil, but is particularly associated with the southern Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Adults are not found at the northern extremes of its range. It lives mostly near the surface, at depths ranging from 6 to 33 meters.

The black grouper is quite tasty and an important food fish, is fished for sale but also for sea-angling. While not currently considered endangered, it is vulnerable to increases in exploitation because it is a relatively slow breeder. The black grouper is a solitary fish. Adults feed mainly on other fish and squid, though the younger fish feed on crustaceans especially shrimps.

The fish spawns between May and August. It is a protogynous hermaphrodite, i.e. the young are predominantly female but transform into males as they grow larger. There are other fish that are sometimes called “black groupers”. These include the similar gag grouper, Mycteroperca microlepis, the misty grouper Epinephelus mystacinus, and the critically endangered Warsaw grouper Epinephelus nigritus.

Picture: Cozumel, Mexico by Sami Salmenkivi

 

Potato grouper or potato cod [Epinephelus tukula]

The potato cod or potato grouper, Epinephelus tukula, also called or potato bass, is an endangered, native fish in Australian and surrounding waters. Also encountered in Indian ocean. (text source: wikipedia)

Picture: Cozumel, Mexico by Sami Salmenkivi

 

Coral grouper [Cephalopholis miniata]

Wikipedia has no article on Coral grouper.

Picture: Andaman&Nicobar Islands, India by Sami Salmenkivi

 

Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus)

The humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus, is a wrasse that is mainly found in coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also known as the Maori wrasse, Napoleon wrasse, Napoleonfish.

The humphead wrasse is the largest living member of the family Labridae, with males reaching 6 feet (2 m) in length, while females rarely exceed about 3 feet (1 m). It has thick, fleshy lips and a hump that forms on its head above the eyes, becoming more prominent as the fish ages. Males range from a bright electric blue to green, a purplish blue, or a relatively dull blue/green. Juveniles and females are red-orange above, and red-orange to white below. Some males grow very large, with one unconfirmed report of a Humphead Wrasse that was 7.75 feet (2.29 m) long and weighed 420 lbs (190.5 kg).

Adults are confined to steep coral reef slopes, channel slopes, and lagoon reefs in water 3 to 330 feet (1-100 m) deep. They primarily eat mollusks, fishes, sea urchins, crustaceans, and other invertebrates and are one of the few predators of toxic animals such as sea hares, boxfishes, and crown-of-thorns star fish. This species actively selects branching hard and soft corals and seagrasses at settlement. Juveniles tend to prefer a more cryptic existence in areas of dense branching corals, bushy macroalgae or seagrasses, while larger individuals and adults prefer to occupy limited home ranges in more open habitat on the edges of reefs, channels, and reef passes. The species is most often observed in solitary male-female pairs, or groups of two to seven individuals.

Picture: Red Sea, Egypt by Sami Salmenkivi