Details
Cephalopholis miniata
The coral grouper is a red reef grouper sprinkled with blue spots. It is a solitary daytime predator that ambushes small fishes from coral cover.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It inhabits coral reefs, lagoons, and outer reef slopes across the Pacific, the Indian Ocean. Adults keep close to ledges, caves, and coral gaps that offer cover.
Length 30-50 cm; weight 800 g-2 kg. The stocky red-orange body is densely marked with small blue spots, with a heavy head and wide mouth. Its build suits short explosive lunges rather than long chases.
Active by day, adults usually hold solitary territories. They watch from cover and rush out to engulf prey in a sudden suction strike.
A carnivore, it eats mainly small fishes and crustaceans. Ambush tactics and reef structure are central to its hunting.
Like many groupers, adults gather to broadcast eggs into open water during spawning. Larvae drift before settling onto reef habitat.
It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.
