Home > Fishes > Groupers & Basses

Updated 8/3/2025

Family Serranidae

Groupers

Groupers are carnivorous fishes that are typically large and slow moving, found under ledges and caverns.  They feed primarily upon fishes and large crustaceans.  Due to the high fish diet, many reef species contain enough ciguatoxin to cause illness and caution should be exercised.  Large groupers are poorly represented in Hawai'i, with one deepwater endemic, one waif, and one invasive alien species.  Small, colorful basslets and anthias are better represented but uncommon, preferring deep water or dark caverns.  They feed upon zooplankton and are sexually dimorphic, with harems of smaller, less-colorful females in the company of a male.  Soapfishes (Subfamily Grammistinae) produce soapy bitter mucus to deter predators and are rarely seen during the day.

 

HAWAII - ENDEMIC

Compsanthias hawaiiensis endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

HAWAIIAN LONGFIN ANTHIAS, female

 

 Compsanthias hawaiiensis endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

HAWAIIAN LONGFIN ANTHIAS, male

 
Pseudanthias thompsoni  endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

THOMPSON'S ANTHIAS, female

 

 Pseudanthias thompsoni  endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

THOMPSON'S ANTHIAS, male
Holanthias fuscipinnis   endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

HAWAIIAN YELLOW ANTHIAS, juv

 

 Holanthias fuscipinnis   endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

HAWAIIAN YELLOW ANTHIAS

 
Caprodon unicolor    endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

ELEGANT ANTHIAS, female

 

 Caprodon unicolor    endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

ELEGANT ANTHIAS, male

 
Hyporthodus quernus    endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

HAWAIIAN GROUPER, juv.    hāpu'u

 

 Hyporthodus quernus    endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

HAWAIIAN GROUPER     hāpu'u

 
Plectranthias kelloggi  endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

THREADFIN PERCHLET

 

 Liopropoma aurora  endemic.gif (1686 bytes)

SUNRISE BASSLET

INDO-PACIFIC / HAWAII

Cephalopholis argus  

PEACOCK GROUPER

 

 Epinephelus lanceolatus

GIANT GROUPER

 

Luzonichthys earlei 

EARLE'S SPLITFIN ANTHIAS

 Pseudanthias bicolor

BICOLOR ANTHIAS

 
Suttonia lineata

PALESTRIPE SOAPFISH

 Pseudogramma polyacanthum

PALE-SPOTTED SOAPFISH

 
Plectranthias nanus

DWARF PERCHLET

 

 Plectranthias winniensis

REDBLOTCH PERCHLET

INDO-PACIFIC

Cephalopholis miniata

CORALGROUPER

 

 Cephalopholis sexmaculata

SADDLE GROUPER

 
Cephalopholis urodeta

FLAGTAIL GROUPER

 

 Anyperodon leucogrammicus

SLENDER GROUPER

Cephalopholis polleni

HARLEQUIN GROUPER

 

 Serranocirrhitus latus

HAWK ANTHIAS

 
Pseudanthias dispar

REDFIN ANTHIAS, female

 

 Pseudanthias dispar

REDFIN ANTHIAS, male

Pseudanthias squamipinnis

SCALEFIN ANTHIAS, female

 

 Pseudanthias squamipinnis

SCALEFIN ANTHIAS, male

Pseudanthias huchtii

RED-CHEEKED ANTHIAS, female

 

 Pseudanthias huchtii

RED-CHEEKED ANTHIAS, male

 
Pseudanthias tuka

YELLOWSTRIPE ANTHIAS, female

 

 Pseudanthias tuka

YELLOWSTRIPE ANTHIAS, male
Pseudanthias pascalus

PURPLE QUEEN, female

 

 Pseudanthias pascalus

PURPLE QUEEN, male
Pseudanthias pleurotaenia

SQUARESPOT ANTHIAS, female

 

 Pseudanthias pleurotaenia

SQUARESPOT ANTHIAS, male

Pseudanthias smithvanizi

PRINCESS ANTHIAS, female

 

 Pseudanthias smithvanizi

PRINCESS ANTHIAS, male
Pseudanthias hypselosoma

STOCKY ANTHIAS, female

 

 Pseudanthias hypselosoma

STOCKY ANTHIAS, male
Pseudanthias lori

LORI'S ANTHIAS, female

 

 Pseudanthias cooperi

REDBAR ANTHIAS, female

 
Luzonichthys waitei

MAGENTA SLENDER ANTHIAS

 

 Pseudanthias bartlettorum

BARTLETT'S ANTHIAS

 
Grammistes sexlineatus

SIXLINE SOAPFISH

 

 Diploprion bifasciatum

DOUBLEBANDED SOAPFISH
Plectropomus oligacanthus



HIGHFIN GROUPER

 

 Plectropomus leopardus



LEOPARD GROUPER
Epinephelus ongus

WHITE-STREAKED GROUPER, juv

 

 Epinephelus ongus

WHITE-STREAKED GROUPER
Cephalopholis cyanostigma



BLUE-SPOTTED GROUPER

 

 Plectropomus areolatus



SQUARETAIL GROUPER
Epinephelus spilotoceps

FOURSADDLE GROUPER

 

 Epinephelus merra

HONEYCOMB GROUPER
Epinephelus macrospilos

SNUBNOSE GROUPER

 

 Epinephelus howlandi

BLACKSADDLE GROUPER
Epinephelus areolatus

AREOLATE GROUPER

 

 Epinephelus fasciatus

BLACKTIP GROUPER
Epinephelus malabaricus

MALABAR GROUPER, juv

 

 Epinephelus malabaricus

MALABAR GROUPER
Epinephelus polyphekadion

CAMOUFLAGE GROUPER

 

 Epinephelus tukula

POTATO GROUPER
Gracilia albomarginata

MASKED GROUPER, juvenile

 

 Gracilia albomarginata

MASKED GROUPER
Cephalopholis boenak

CHOCOLATE GROUPER

 

 Aethaloperca rogaa

REDMOUTH GROUPER
Variola louti

YELLOW-EDGED LYRETAIL

 

 Cromileptes altivelis

HUMPBACK GROUPER or PANTHERFISH
Epinephelus undulosus

WAVY-LINED GROUPER

 

  
   

JAPAN

Caprodon schlegelii

SCHLEGEL'S ANTHIAS, Female

 

 Caprodon schlegelii

SCHLEGEL'S ANTHIAS, Male
Sacura margaritacea

JAPANESE ANTHIAS     Sakuradai

 

TROPICAL EASTERN PACIFIC

Alphestes immaculatus

MUTTON HAMLET

 

 Epinephelus labriformis

FLAG CABRILLA

 
Epinephelus panamensis

PANAMA GRAYSBY

 

 Mycteroperca rosacea

LEOPARD GROUPER

 
Serranus psittacinus

BANDED SERRANO

 

 Rypticus bicolor

MOTTLED SOAPFISH

 
Paranthias colonus

PACIFIC CREOLEFISH

 

 Liopropoma fasciatum

RAINBOW BASSLET

 

NORTHEAST PACIFIC

Paralabrax clathratus

KELP or CALICO BASS

WESTERN ATLANTIC

Hypoplectrus indigo

INDIGO HAMLET

 

 Hypoplectrus aberrans

YELLOWBELLY HAMLET

 
Hypoplectrus puella

BARRED HAMLET, Juvenile

 

 Hypoplectrus puella

BARRED HAMLET

Hypoplectrus unicolor

BUTTER HAMLET

 

Rypticus saponaceus

GREATER SOAPFISH

 
Epinephelus guttatus

RED HIND

 

 Epinephelus itajara

GOLIATH GROUPER

 
Mycteroperca bonaci

BLACK GROUPER

 

 Mycteroperca tigris

TIGER GROUPER
Cephalopholis cruentatus

GRAYSBY

Epinephelus striatus

NASSAU GROUPER

 
Serranus tigrinus

HARLEQUIN BASS

  

Family Percichthyidae

Temperate Sea Basses

CALIFORNIA

Stereolepis gigas

BLACK or GIANT SEA BASS

 

Family Centropomidae

Temperate Sea Basses

WESTERN ATLANTIC

Centropomus undecimalis

COMMON SNOOK