Metazoa info

[Duke Guilmon]

Atlantic goliath grouper



Epinephelus itajara

Size: males only go up to 1,150mm, females can go from 1,151mm-1.225mm

Weight: 180kg on average

Life expectancy: 37 years

Location: It lives in warm waters from Florida, to the west indes, Brazil, and the Congo to Senegal.



Taxonomy:
Class: Actinopterygii
(unranked): Actinopteri
Subclass: Neopterygii
Infraclass: Neopterygii
Unranked superordo: Acanthomorpha
Superorder: Acanthopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Superfamily: Percoidea
Family: Serranidae
Subfamily: Epinedphelinae
Genus: Epinephelus
Species: Epinephelus itajara

Diet: This large powerful fish eats crustaceans, fish, octopus, young sea turtles, sharks, and barracudas. 

Anatomy: This fish has a large and powerful mouth. The mouth can suck up and swallow prey whole. It does this by exerting pressure onto the water. 

Behavior: These animals are ambush predators. Once prey swims by, they pounce. These animals are solitary, only meeting up during the mating season. 

Reproduction: Goliath groupers are protogynous hermaphrodites. Males are sexually mature before females. They will meet in groups and release eggs and sperm. All young are born females. Some females will grow up to be males.

Relationship with other animals: Itajara are important to the coral ecosystem, as it keep the area healthy. This means life is easier to thrive with this fish extant and living in the area. 



The final boss and her minions

Other sources:

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/195409/0

http://oceana.org/marine-life/ocean-fish...th-grouper

http://eol.org/pages/212570/details