‹ Fish Finder· #487
Blacksaddled Coralgrouper
Plectropomus laevis
Bislamalos— names this kind of animal, not this species alone
- Habitat
- Reef
- Max size
- 1.3 m
- Depth
- 4-100 m
- Family
- Serranidae
Plectropomus laevis, known commonly as the black-saddled coral grouper, cluespotted coral trout, blacksaddled coral trout, blue-spot trout, Chinese footballer, footballer cod, footballer coral trout, oceanic coral trout or tiger trout, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Side by side, with what tells them apart.
Blacksaddled Coralgrouper has two looks. The footballer phase, white with black saddles and yellow fins, is unmistakable; the other is greyish with a dark head, five dark saddles along the back and small blue spots, and that is the one taken for a Leopard Coral Grouper. Leopard Coral Grouper is red-orange to olive, evenly covered in small bright blue spots, with a blue ring around the eye and no saddles.
See the Leopard Coral Grouper →
Young Blacksaddled Coralgroupers may copy the toxic Valentin's Sharpnose Puffer: white with dark saddles. The puffer stays small (11 cm), with a short body, a pointed snout, short rounded fins set far back, and four dark saddles, the middle two reaching the belly. A young coralgrouper has a grouper's big mouth and long dorsal fin, and grows into a 125 cm predator -- white with black saddles and yellow fins, or dark and covered in blue spots.
See the Valentin's Sharpnose Puffer →