Pacific goliath grouper
species of fish
The Pacific goliath grouper (Epinephelus quinquefasciatus), also known as the Pacific itajara grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean where it is associated with reefs. It is related to the Atlantic goliath grouper.
Description
The Pacific goliath grouper has a robust, oblong body. The area between the eyes is wide and flat. The margin of the preopercle has fine serrations and an angled edge. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 15–16 soft rays while the anal fin has three spines and eight soft rays. The caudal fin is rounded. The head and body are grey or greenish in colour marked with pale blotches and small dark spots which are scattered over the upper head and body, as well as being on the pectoral fins. Subadult fish which are less than 100 centimetres (39 in) in length are overall greenish to tawny brown in colour with diagonal, irregular darker brown bars on the body and caudal fin.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5501215. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pacific 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.