Dusky grouper
Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834)
The dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) is a bony fish in the family Epinephelidae, within the order Perciformes and suborder Percoidei. It was named by (Lowe, 1834) and belongs to the genus Epinephelus in the class Teleostei.
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Quick facts about the dusky grouper
The global IUCN Red List assessment lists the dusky grouper as Vulnerable (VU), an IUCN threatened category. Other English names for this fish include dusky perch, brown perch, yellow belly and yellowbelly rockcod.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastalsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the dusky grouper
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the dusky grouper live?
Not recorded
What is the dusky grouper?
Epinephelus marginatus (Latin pronunciation: [epiːˈnepʰelus marɡiˈnaːtus]), the dusky grouper, yellowbelly rock cod, or yellowbelly grouper, is a species of fish in the grouper family, Epinephelidae. It is found in coastal waters, primarily at the edges of the Atlantic Ocean – off western Africa and eastern South America – and also in the Indian Ocean around South Africa, Madagascar and Réunion, and throughout the Mediterranean.
From the Wikipedia article “Epinephelus marginatus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Epinephelus_marginatus&oldid=1356403784), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the dusky grouper sound like?
Is the dusky grouper endangered?
The dusky grouper is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the dusky grouper classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- familyEpinephelidae
- genusEpinephelus
- SpeciesEpinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834)
Synonyms Cerna gigas, Cerna gigas, Cernua gigas, Epinephelus brachysoma, Epinephelus gicas, Epinephelus gigas, Epinephelus gigas, Epinephelus guaza, Epinephelus guaza, Epinephelus guaza, Holocentrus gigas, Mycteroperca marginata, Perca gigas, Serranus aspersus, Serranus aspersus, Serranus aspesus, Serranus cernioides, Serranus fimbriatus, Serranus gigas, Serranus guaza, Serranus marginatus
Other names and names in other languages (50)
- Brown perchEnglish
- Dusky perchEnglish
- Yellow bellyEnglish
- Yellowbelly rockcodEnglish
- KoningklipAfrikaans
- neroCatalan
- anfósCatalan
- lucernaCorsican
- kanic vroubenýCzech
- Mørk havaborreDanish
- Riesen-ZackenbarschGerman
- brauner ZackenbarschGerman
- ΡοφόςGreek
- meroSpanish
- chernia marrónSpanish
- garopaSpanish
- Mero de Vientre AmarilloSpanish
- mero morenoSpanish
- mero nebulosoSpanish
- tummameriahvenFinnish
- Merou BrunFrench
- Cabot noirFrench
- Mérou brunFrench
- mérou noirFrench
- mérou sombreFrench
- דקר הסלעיםHebrew
- cernia brunaItalian
- geelpensDutch
- bruine tandbaarsDutch
- tandbaarsDutch
- granik wielkiPolish
- meroPortuguese
- galinha-do-marPortuguese
- garoupaPortuguese
- garoupa-crioulaPortuguese
- garoupa-gigantePortuguese
- garoupa-pretaPortuguese
- garoupa-verdadeiraPortuguese
- Mero-legítimoPortuguese
- mero-pretoPortuguese
- piracucaPortuguese
- бурый груперRussian
- Тёмный груперRussian
- гигантский мероуRussian
- темный груперRussian
- kirnjaSlovenian
- brun havsabborreSwedish
- pirakúkatpn
- orfozTurkish
- 烏鰭石斑魚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the dusky grouper
Other species in the same genus Epinephelus.
Giant grouper
Epinephelus lanceolatus
Itajara
Epinephelus itajara
White grouper
Epinephelus aeneus
Rockcod
Epinephelus coioides
Estuary cod
Epinephelus malabaricus
Grouper
Epinephelus tukula
CompareDusky grouper vs Giant grouperDusky grouper vs ItajaraDusky grouper vs White grouperDusky grouper vs Rockcod
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the dusky grouper?
The dusky grouper is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Epinephelidae in the order Perciformes.
What is the scientific name of the dusky grouper?
The scientific name of the dusky grouper is Epinephelus marginatus, placing it in the genus Epinephelus.
Who named the dusky grouper and when?
The dusky grouper's scientific name carries the authority (Lowe, 1834).
Is the dusky grouper endangered?
The dusky grouper is listed as Vulnerable (VU) in the global IUCN Red List assessment, which is an IUCN threatened category.
What other names does the dusky grouper have?
Other English names for the dusky grouper are Dusky perch, Brown perch, Yellow belly and Yellowbelly rockcod.
What family does the dusky grouper belong to?
The dusky grouper belongs to the family Epinephelidae, in the suborder Percoidei and class Teleostei.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-grouper
“Dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-grouper.
@misc{dusky_grouper_2026,
title = {Dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-grouper},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}