Appearance
The humpback grouper is a medium-sized fish which grows up to 70 cm.Its particular body shape makes this grouper quite impossible to mix up with other fishes. Its body is compressed laterally and is relatively high. This stocky and strange visual effect is accented by its concave profile and its elongated snout which gives it a humpbacked appearance.
The young have a white background with round black spots and are continuously swimming head down. The adults have a body colouration with variances of grey and beige with darker blotches variable in size on the body. Small black spots cover the whole body.
Distribution
It is widely distributed throughout the tropical waters of the central Indo-West Pacific region. The humpback grouper lives in clear waters from lagoons and seaward reefs with a preference for dead or silty areas. They are found in a range of depth from 2 to 40 m.In 2012, a single individual was speared in the waters off South Florida, raising fears that it could become invasive, similar to the lionfish.
Status
Since 2007, "C. altivelis" is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, because the species is naturally rare, so is sensitive to overharvesting due to its high value in the live food fish trade and to habitat degradation. Hatchery production is not intended for reintroduction, but instead for the aquarium trade, so does not result in an increase in the natural population or a decrease in demand as food.Sadovy, Y., Thierry, C., Choat, J.H. & Cabanban, A.S. 2008. Cromileptes altivelis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2.. Downloaded on 25 June 2013.
Behavior
The diet of this grouper is based on small fishes and crustaceans. Like the members of its family, the humpback grouper is demersal, solitary, defends a territory, and is an ambush predator. Its feeding activity is maximal at sunrise and/or at sunset. This species is a protogynous hermaphrodite, which means it is able to change from the sex it was born as to the opposite sex.
Habitat
It is widely distributed throughout the tropical waters of the central Indo-West Pacific region. The humpback grouper lives in clear waters from lagoons and seaward reefs with a preference for dead or silty areas. They are found in a range of depth from 2 to 40 m.In 2012, a single individual was speared in the waters off South Florida, raising fears that it could become invasive, similar to the lionfish.
Food
The diet of this grouper is based on small fishes and crustaceans. Like the members of its family, the humpback grouper is demersal, solitary, defends a territory, and is an ambush predator. Its feeding activity is maximal at sunrise and/or at sunset. This species is a protogynous hermaphrodite, which means it is able to change from the sex it was born as to the opposite sex.References:
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