Shore Buddies Wisdom Wednesday 10/14/2020
There are a little over a hundred types of groupers. Some fish in this family can grow to incredible sizes, such as the jewfish (Epinephelus itajara) of the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Queensland grouper (E. lanceolatus) of Australia. Both of these fishes can reach lengths of more than 3 m (10 ft) and weights greater than 454 kg (1,000 lbs.). In addition to their possible great size, another defense that some groupers have is the ability to change the color of their skin to match their background.. Sometimes this color change is simple, such as turning from dark to light in order to blend in with varying levels of light. They swim slowly, but with power. They're not capable of fast breaks or swimming long distances, but anyone who's been on the other end of one on a deep sea fishing charter in Destin can tell you they have one heck of a dive pull. Some groupers are so huge that when they open their mouths to feed, they create a suction that is powerful enough to inhale small prey. Groupers may undergo a sex reversal as they age. All young yellowmouth groupers (Mycteroperca interstitialis) are born females, but as they grow larger they change into males. Only small percentages survive long enough to become a male, thus ensuring the greater majority are egg-laying females. Even more surprising, some in the genus Serranus are rare examples of fishes that can be male and female at the same time. Groupers have be estimated to live as long as 50 years old. The United States Navy named one of it's submarines after this majestic game fish. It was launched out of Groton, Connecticut on October 27th 1941, then decommissioned and sold for scrapping on August 11th 1970.
https://seaworld.org/animals/facts/bony-fish/groupers/
https://www.destinfishingcompany.com/single-post/2015/07/01/Grouper-Facts