Atlantic goliath grouper
species of fish
The Atlantic goliath grouper, the jewfish or itajara (Epinephelus itajara), is a saltwater fish of the grouper family and one of the largest species of bony fish. The species can be found in the West Atlantic ranging from northeastern Florida, south throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and along South America to Brazil. In the East Pacific it ranges from Mexico to Peru. In the East Atlantic, the species ranges in West Africa from Senegal to Cabinda. The species has been observed at depths ranging from 1 to 100 meters (3 to 300 ft).
Evolution
Complete fossil neurocrania of the Atlantic goliath grouper are known from the Late Miocene-aged Urumaco Formation of Venezuela.
Etymology
The Atlantic goliath grouper is most commonly referred to as the "jewfish", and there are several theories as to the name's origin. A 1996 review of the term's history from its first recorded usage in 1697 concluded that the species' physical characteristics were frequently connected to "mainstay caricatures of anti-Semitic beliefs", whereas the interpretation that the fish was regarded as kosher food had little support. Alternate explanations include derivation from the Italian word "giupesce", which means "bottom fish", or mispronunciation of the name "jawfish". In 1927, the New York Aquarium changed the fish's name to Junefish after protests.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of fish. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1920243. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1996, 1697 and 1927.
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This entry incorporates text from “Atlantic goliath grouper” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.