Mycteroperca fusca (Lowe, 1838)

Species Classification

Mycteroperca fusca is a large fish species.

Adult Coloration

Adult individuals have brownish or dark grey bodies marked with irregular pale blotches and spots, as well as a prominent maxillary streak. When stressed, M. fusca can reverse its body color and pattern.

Juvenile Coloration

Juveniles are mottled greenish brown, with prominent white spots on the head and body; their dorsal, anal, and caudal fins have white streaks, and their pectoral fins are translucent golden.

Body Shape

The body is oblong and compressed, with a body depth 3.0 to 3.3 times the standard length.

Head Structure

This species has a convex interorbital area, and enlarged serrations on the preopercle at its angle, which form a rounded lobe below a shallow indentation on the vertical limb. There are a few small serrations on the subopercle and interopercle.

Nostril Size Variation

In juveniles, the anterior and posterior nostrils are slightly unequal in size; in adults, the posterior nostrils are three times larger than the anterior nostrils.

Jaw Structure

The lower jaw protrudes well beyond the upper jaw.

Fin Meristics

The meristic formula for this species is D, XI, 14-16; A III, 10-12.

Maximum Length

Its maximum recorded total length is 80 cm.

Native Distribution

Mycteroperca fusca is an insular species native to the Canary Islands, Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde.

Non-native Range Record

In 2010, two individuals were reported in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel.