Fish ID help

[wazungu]

#3 is the speckled hind, Epinephelus drummondhayi. Nice photo! Not in the usual books because it is usually deep.

I have a complete species list for the Caribbean on my website that you can use to do process of elimination when you are stumped.

ben
coralreeffish.com

 

[doctormike]

#3 is the speckled hind, Epinephelus drummondhayi. Nice photo! Not in the usual books because it is usually deep.

I have a complete species list for the Caribbean on my website that you can use to do process of elimination when you are stumped.

ben
coralreeffish.com

Excellent..! Thanks...

Your site looks terrific...

Mike

 

[fly-fisher]

With all due respect to Ben, #3 is a scamp, Mycteroperca phenax. Scamp are highly variable in color (shades of brown, cream and yellow) and spot patterning, but the telltales include the irregular exsertions on the tail and anal fin. Small(er) scamp like this one are often mistaken for yellowmouth grouper. The yellow mouth corners are NOT a good ID character, either.

 

[doctormike]

OK, I guess that there is some difference of opinion about #3. I might just leave that one out for now, since I already have other examples of the scamp and of the speckled hind.

Mike

 

[wazungu]

Sorry- all I can say is I must have gone color blind or downloaded the wrong photo somewhere along the line... I agree it is a scamp- doctormike, your scamp is a juvenile with the blotches, the #3 is the scamp adult with the smaller version of the spots. If you guys want to be really stumped- this fish photo is of the Galapagos endemic grouper... look familiar?

http://content1.eol.org/content/2009/05/21/16/75029_large.jpg