Big Fish
Giant Grouper
Epinephelus lanceolatus · Bony fish, family Epinephelidae
The giant grouper is the Indo-Pacific's resident submarine: a fish the size of a chest freezer, drab olive-gray with a vast frog mouth, hanging in the shade of a wreck companionway with tiny eyes tracking everything. Australia's Yongala wreck made the species famous among divers: its resident giants loom out of the gloom beside bull rays and sea snakes, treating the hull as a fiefdom. Encounters elsewhere are scattered and memorable for their rarity; wild adults have been fished out of most of Asia, and a giant meeting you at depth with calm, proprietary curiosity is a privilege fewer reefs can offer each decade. Aquaculture now supplies the food trade the wild fish once fed.
Waar en wanneer je er een kunt zien
"Resident" betekent dat je ze bij de meeste duiken op die bestemming tegenkomt; "seizoensgebonden" betekent betrouwbaar aanwezig in de vermelde maanden; al het andere is een bonus, geen garantie.
| Bestemming | Betrouwbaarheid | Maanden | Notities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Townsville & the YongalaAustralia | Resident: seen on most dives | Het hele jaar door | |
| Cairns & the Ribbon ReefsAustralia | Occasional | Het hele jaar door | |
| Sipadan & MabulMalaysia | Occasional | Het hele jaar door |
Beste maand, in één oogopslag
| Maand | Betrouwbare bestemmingen |
|---|---|
| January | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| February | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| March | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| April | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| May | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| June | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| July | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| August | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| September | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| October | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| November | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
| December | Townsville & the Yongala · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Sipadan & Mabul |
Ze begrijpen
Habitat: Wrecks, caves, and lagoon pinnacles; solitary adults hold large territories around favored structure
Verspreidingsgebied: Tropical Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa to Australia, Japan, and the central Pacific, nowhere common
Gedrag: A cave-dwelling colossus that spends daylight suspended in shade, drifting out to inspect visitors with ponderous confidence. Individual fish occupy the same wreck or bommie for many years and become local celebrities. Like its Atlantic counterpart it can produce a booming territorial drum.
Dieet: Spiny lobsters, crabs, fish including small sharks and rays, and juvenile turtles, engulfed whole
Grootte: doorgaans rond 1.8 m; gedocumenteerd tot 2.7 m (total length; the largest bony fish resident on coral reefs, reportedly to 400 kg).
Hoe je je ertegenover gedraagt
No feeding (it rewired the behavior of famous individuals in the past), no touching, and give the fish the right of way in wreck corridors and caves.
Behoud
Currently assessed Data Deficient: wild populations are sparse and hard to census after decades of the live reef-food-fish trade; several range states protect it outright.
Gekende duiksites waar je ze tegenkomt
Gemarkeerde locaties zijn voor deze soort in kaart gebracht door onze redacteurs; de getallen zijn GBIF-waarnemingsrecords vastgelegd binnen ongeveer 5 km van een locatie sinds 1990.
Bekijk
Via de officiële kanalen
Wildlife of Monterey | New film in our auditorium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Video's zijn ingesloten links naar de eigen kanalen van de makers. We hosten niets en vermelden altijd de bron.