WoRMS taxon details
Epinephelus guttatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
159352 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:159352)
accepted
Species
Epinephelus cubanus Poey, 1865 · unaccepted
Holocentrus punctatus Bloch, 1790 · unaccepted
Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758 · unaccepted
Promicrops guttatus · uncertain > unassessed
Serranus arara Valenciennes, 1828 · unaccepted
Serranus catus Valenciennes, 1828 · unaccepted
Serranus maculosus Valenciennes, 1828 · unaccepted
Serranus stathouderi Vaillant & Bocourt, 1878 · unaccepted
marine, brackish, fresh, terrestrial
(of Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758) Linnaeus, C. (1758). <i>Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis</i>. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. [iii] + 824 pp. , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726886 [details] Available for editors 
[request]
[request]
Distribution Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA to Venezuela. The most common species of Epinephelus in the West Indies. Bahamas,...
Distribution Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA to Venezuela. The most common species of Epinephelus in the West Indies. Bahamas, Antilles, Central and South American coasts [details]
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2026). FishBase. Epinephelus guttatus (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159352 on 2026-07-10
The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Nomenclature
original description
(of Serranus arara Valenciennes, 1828) Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1828). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome second. Livre Troisième. Des poissons de la famille des perches, ou des percoïdes. 2: i-xxi + 2 pp + 1-490, Pls. 9-40., available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.7339 [details]
original description (of Serranus catus Valenciennes, 1828) Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1828). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome second. Livre Troisième. Des poissons de la famille des perches, ou des percoïdes. 2: i-xxi + 2 pp + 1-490, Pls. 9-40., available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.7339 [details]
original description (of Serranus stathouderi Vaillant & Bocourt, 1878) Vaillant, L. L.; Bocourt, F. (1874-1915). Études sur les poissons. <em>In: Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique centrale. Recherches zoologiques. Quatrième partie. Imprimérie Nationale, Paris.</em> Part 4: 1-265, 20 pls. (variously numbered). [Pp. 1-40 (1874), 41-120 (1878), 121-200 (1883), 201-265 (1915). Plates appeared earlier than the text in some cases.]. [details]
original description (of Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758) Linnaeus, C. (1758). <i>Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis</i>. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. [iii] + 824 pp. , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726886 [details] Available for editors [request]
original description (of Serranus maculosus Valenciennes, 1828) Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1828). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome second. Livre Troisième. Des poissons de la famille des perches, ou des percoïdes. 2: i-xxi + 2 pp + 1-490, Pls. 9-40., available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.7339 [details]
original description (of Holocentrus punctatus Bloch, 1790) Bloch, M. E. (1790). Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische. <em>Berlin.</em> v. 4: i-xii + 1-128, Pls. 217-252. [Also a French edition, Ichthyologie, ou Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des poissons, v. 7, published 1797.].
page(s): 88, Pl. 241 [details]
basis of record Robins, C. R.; Ray, G. C.; Douglass, J.; Freund, R. (1986). A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. <em>Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston.</em> 1-354. [details]
original description (of Serranus catus Valenciennes, 1828) Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1828). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome second. Livre Troisième. Des poissons de la famille des perches, ou des percoïdes. 2: i-xxi + 2 pp + 1-490, Pls. 9-40., available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.7339 [details]
original description (of Serranus stathouderi Vaillant & Bocourt, 1878) Vaillant, L. L.; Bocourt, F. (1874-1915). Études sur les poissons. <em>In: Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amérique centrale. Recherches zoologiques. Quatrième partie. Imprimérie Nationale, Paris.</em> Part 4: 1-265, 20 pls. (variously numbered). [Pp. 1-40 (1874), 41-120 (1878), 121-200 (1883), 201-265 (1915). Plates appeared earlier than the text in some cases.]. [details]
original description (of Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758) Linnaeus, C. (1758). <i>Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis</i>. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. [iii] + 824 pp. , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726886 [details] Available for editors
[request]original description (of Serranus maculosus Valenciennes, 1828) Cuvier, G.; Valenciennes, A. (1828). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome second. Livre Troisième. Des poissons de la famille des perches, ou des percoïdes. 2: i-xxi + 2 pp + 1-490, Pls. 9-40., available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.7339 [details]
original description (of Holocentrus punctatus Bloch, 1790) Bloch, M. E. (1790). Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische. <em>Berlin.</em> v. 4: i-xii + 1-128, Pls. 217-252. [Also a French edition, Ichthyologie, ou Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des poissons, v. 7, published 1797.].
page(s): 88, Pl. 241 [details]
basis of record Robins, C. R.; Ray, G. C.; Douglass, J.; Freund, R. (1986). A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. <em>Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston.</em> 1-354. [details]
Ecology
ecology source
Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. <em>Scientific Data.</em> 10(1). (look up in IMIS), available online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02745-4 [details] 
Other
context source (Bermuda)
Smith-Vaniz, W. F.; Collette, B. B.; Luckhurst, B. E (1999). Fishes of Bermuda: History, zoogeography, annotated checklist, and identification keys
(American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists - Special Publication No.4)
. ASIH, 424 pp. [details]
additional source McEachran, J. D. (2009). Fishes (Vertebrata: Pisces) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1223–1316 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. [details]
additional source Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2026). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (04/2025)., available online at https://www.fishbase.org [details]
additional source McEachran, J. D. (2009). Fishes (Vertebrata: Pisces) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1223–1316 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. [details]
additional source Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2026). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (04/2025)., available online at https://www.fishbase.org [details]
Present Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio Inaccurate Introduced: alien Containing type locality
Unreviewed
Distribution Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA to Venezuela. The most common species of Epinephelus in the West Indies. Bahamas, Antilles, Central and South American coasts [details]Habitat benthic [details]
To Barcode of Life (34 barcodes)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (12 publications) (from synonym Serranus maculosus Valenciennes, 1828)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (15 publications) (from synonym Holocentrus punctatus Bloch, 1790)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (17 publications) (from synonym Serranus catus Valenciennes, 1828)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (24 publications) (from synonym Serranus arara Valenciennes, 1828)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (60 publications) (from synonym Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (61 publications)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (7 publications) (from synonym Epinephelus cubanus Poey, 1865)
To Digital Atlas Of Marine Species & Locations, DAMSL (Red Hind)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Epinephelus guttatus)
To FishBase (from synonym Serranus arara Valenciennes, 1828)
To FishBase (from synonym Serranus catus Valenciennes, 1828)
To FishBase (from synonym Serranus maculosus Valenciennes, 1828)
To FishBase
To FishBase (from synonym Serranus stathouderi Vaillant & Bocourt, 1878)
To FishBase (from synonym Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758)
To FishBase (from synonym Epinephelus cubanus Poey, 1865)
To FishBase (from synonym Holocentrus punctatus Bloch, 1790)
To FishSounds
To GenBank (114 nucleotides; 34 proteins)
To GenBank (114 nucleotides; 34 proteins) (from synonym Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758)
To Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI)
To IUCN Red List (Least Concern)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Epinephelus guttatus USNM 406349 photograph lateral view)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Epinephelus guttatus USNM 413215 lateral view)
To ITIS
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (12 publications) (from synonym Serranus maculosus Valenciennes, 1828)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (15 publications) (from synonym Holocentrus punctatus Bloch, 1790)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (17 publications) (from synonym Serranus catus Valenciennes, 1828)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (24 publications) (from synonym Serranus arara Valenciennes, 1828)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (60 publications) (from synonym Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (61 publications)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (7 publications) (from synonym Epinephelus cubanus Poey, 1865)
To Digital Atlas Of Marine Species & Locations, DAMSL (Red Hind)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Epinephelus guttatus)
To FishBase (from synonym Serranus arara Valenciennes, 1828)
To FishBase (from synonym Serranus catus Valenciennes, 1828)
To FishBase (from synonym Serranus maculosus Valenciennes, 1828)
To FishBase
To FishBase (from synonym Serranus stathouderi Vaillant & Bocourt, 1878)
To FishBase (from synonym Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758)
To FishBase (from synonym Epinephelus cubanus Poey, 1865)
To FishBase (from synonym Holocentrus punctatus Bloch, 1790)
To FishSounds
To GenBank (114 nucleotides; 34 proteins)
To GenBank (114 nucleotides; 34 proteins) (from synonym Perca guttata Linnaeus, 1758)
To Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI)
To IUCN Red List (Least Concern)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Epinephelus guttatus USNM 406349 photograph lateral view)
To NMNH Extant Collection (Epinephelus guttatus USNM 413215 lateral view)
To ITIS
Unreviewed
Hosted externally
Hosted externally
Hosted externally
