Tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris)

Scientific name: Mycteroperca tigris Valenciennes, 1833

The Tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris) is a marine fish of the family Serranidae.

Biology

A solitary species occurring in coral reefs and rocky areas. It is considered an ambush predator that hides among the coral and sponges and is easy to approach. Frequents cleaning stations. The size versus sex distribution of Bermuda population indicates that this species is a protogynous hermaphrodite; all fish less than 37 cm TL were females and all fish larger than 45 cm TL were males. Randall reported food of 59 specimens 15 to 57 cm SL were purely fishes of a variety of species.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Mycteroperca tigris
Family: Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets)
Order: Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 101
Common length: 40.0
Depth range: 10–40 m (33–131 ft)
Environment: Marine; reef-associated; depth range 10 - 40 m
Climate: Subtropical
Distribution: Western Atlantic: southern Florida (USA) and the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil. It was suggested that Mycteroperca tigris was a transient species in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but has recently become abundant on the Flower Garden Banks off Texas.
Conservation status (IUCN): Least Concern (LC), IUCN Grouper and Wrasse Specialist Group
Threat to humans: Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Uses: Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums
Resilience: Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.11; tm=6.5-9.5)