Scientific Name
Epinephelus adscensionis

Common Name
Rock hind

Biology
Inhabits rocky reefs. Usually solitary (Ref. 29). Feeds mainly on crabs (67%) and fishes (20%). At Ascension I., it feeds on juvenile Melichthys niger and young sea turtles. Difficult to approach (Ref. 9710). Its flesh is of good quality. Marketed fresh. Angling: Like other grouper, rock hind are caught by fishing at the right depth over an irregular bottom (Ref. 84357).

Classification

Classified By

Osbeck, 1765

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: Massachusetts, USA and Bermuda to the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and southern Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: Ascension and St. Helena islands; dubious records from the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and South Africa (Ref. 1496, 1953, 6572) are discussed by Heemstra (Ref. 6512).

Range

40°N - 24°S, 99°W - 9°E

Environment

Climate

Tropical

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

1 m

Depth To - meters

120 m

Zone

demersal

Environment

Marine; demersal; depth range 1 - 120 m (Ref. 36484), usually ? - 15 m (Ref. 3589)

Trophic Level

3.51 s.e. 0.54 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

61.0 cm

Common Length

35.0 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: highly commercial; gamefish: yes

Vulnerability

Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100)

Resilience

Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.11)

Threat To Humans

Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 31172)

IUCN Red List Status

Least Concern (LC)