Scientific Name
Mycteroperca tigris

Common Name
Tiger grouper

Biology
A solitary species (Ref. 26340) occurring in coral reefs and rocky areas. It is considered an ambush predator that hides among the coral and sponges and is easy to approach. Frequents cleaning stations (Ref. 9710). The size versus sex distribution of Bermuda population indicates that this species is a protogynous hermaphrodite; all fish less than 37 cm TL were females and all fish larger than 45 cm TL were males (Ref. 6886). Randall (Ref. 33) reported food of 59 specimens 15 to 57 cm SL were purely fishes of a variety of species.

Classification

Classified By

Valenciennes, 1833

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets (Serranidae)

Distribution

Region

Western Atlantic

Distribution

Western Atlantic: southern Florida (USA) and the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil. It was suggested that Mycteroperca tigris was a transient species in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, but has recently become abundant on the Flower Garden Banks off Texas (Ref. 6887).

Range

33°N - 27°S, 98°W - 33°W

Environment

Climate

Subtropical

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

10 m

Depth To - meters

40 m

Zone

reef-associated

Environment

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 10 - 40 m (Ref. 5222)

Trophic Level

4.5 s.e. 0.80 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

True

Is kept in Aquariums

True

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

101 cm

Common Length

40.0 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums

Vulnerability

High vulnerability (64 of 100)

Resilience

Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.11; tm=6.5-9.5)

Threat To Humans

Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)

IUCN Red List Status

Least Concern (LC) , IUCN Grouper and Wrasse Specialist Group