Scientific Name
Plectropomus leopardus

Common Name
Leopard coralgrouper

Biology
Inhabit coral-rich areas of lagoon reefs and mid-shelf reefs (Ref. 6390, 48635). Inactive at night, hiding under ledges (Ref. 9710). Juveniles have a demersal existence in shallow water in reef habitats, especially around coral rubble (Ref. 27259). Adults feed mainly on fish (Ref. 6390). Juveniles feed on small fish and invertebrates such as crustaceans and squid (Ref. 27261). A protogynous hermaphrodite (Ref. 55367). Form several spawning aggregations on a reef occurring around the new moon (Ref. 27259). Eggs float just below the surface (Ref. 6390). Larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6390). P. leopardus is used in cage culture; P. maculatus in Ref. 3081 was probably a mixture of P. maculatus and P. leopardus; the Plectropomus sp. used for the experiments reported in Ref. 4719 consisted predominantly of P. leopardus, with some P. maculatus (M.F. Capra, pers. comm

Classification

Classified By

Lacep?de, 1802

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets (Serranidae)

Distribution

Region

Western Pacific

Distribution

Western Pacific: southern Japan to Australia (Queensland and Western Australia) and eastward to the Caroline Islands and Fiji. Recently recorded from Tonga (Ref. 53797). Often misidentified as Plectropomus maculatus.

Range

35°N - 30°S, 99°E - 178°W

Environment

Climate

Tropical

Water Temperature From

24 °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

3 m

Depth To - meters

100 m

Zone

reef-associated

Environment

Marine; reef-associated; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 3 - 100 m (Ref. 9710)

Trophic Level

4.49 s.e. 0.77 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

True

Is kept in Aquariums

True

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

120 cm

Common Length

35.0 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5078 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial

Vulnerability

Moderate to high vulnerability (51 of 100)

Resilience

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=2-4; tmax=26; Fec=457,900)

Threat To Humans

Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4821)

IUCN Red List Status

Near Threatened (NT) , IUCN Grouper and Wrasse Specialist Group