SERRANIDAE 



{Groupers) 



The grouper family is represented by several species in the 

 Red Sea. Of these many are of roughly the same proportions 

 as our common Serranus cabrilla, but others, like the Epine- 

 phelus tauvina, can weigh more than a hundredweight and 

 measure more than six feet. The habitat of many species of 

 this family is confined to the madrepore-coral bands sur- 

 roimding the islands and running the length of the Red Sea 

 coasts. Their habits are almost the same as those of the same 

 group in the Mediterranean. 



The small species are found in great numbers between the 

 madreporic masses in shallow water (e.g. Cephalopolis 

 hemisticus and the Epinephelus areolatus), while in deeper water, 

 for example at the edge of the barrier or in the fractures of 

 its vertical wall, bigger specimens and species are found. 



Both the groupers of the Red Sea and those of the Mediter- 

 ranean are inclined to 'go to ground' when hunted. The 

 small ones hide themselves in the myriad cracks in the coral 

 while bigger ones go for the grottoes that are to be found in 

 the barrier. But while the caverns in the granite or cal- 

 careous rocks of the Mediterranean are a safe refuge for any 

 animal shot with the arrow of an underwater gun, in the 

 Red Sea, the coral 'bunker' is easily demolished with the 

 aid of an ordinary hammer, and for the grouper the game 

 is up. 



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