Sea Basses and Groupers

The Sea Basses and Groupers (Serranidae) are a family of fish belonging to the order Perciformes. It consists of several sub-families.

There are many species of this family, including Groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). They vary greatly in size: some species do not exceed 10 cm in length, while the itajara (Epinephelus itajara) can grow up to 2.40 m and weigh 300 kg.

Many Sea Basses or Grouper species are brightly colored and many are caught commercially for food. They are commonly found above ore veins in tropical to subtropical coastal waters. Many species are hermaphrodites: their sex changes from male to female over the course of their lives. The fish deposit large quantities of eggs; their larvae are part of the zooplankton.

Part of the Sea basses are divided into subfamilies, including. The subfamilies with a link have been given their own category. Click on it to find those fish species:

Anthiinae (Anthias)
Epinephelinae (Groupers)
Grammistinae
Liopropomatinae
Serraninae