Animal Species:Goldspotted Rockcod, Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822)

The Estuary Cod is brown above, whitish below and has oblique bars on the body. It is recorded in tropical and warm temperate marine waters of the Indo-West Pacific.

Goldspotted Rockcod, Epinephelus coioides

Goldspotted Rockcod, Epinephelus coioides
Erik Schlögl © Erik Schlögl

Alternative Name/s

Orange-spotted Grouper, Brown-spotted Grouper, Estuary Cod, Greasy Cod, Spotted River Cod

Identification

The Estuary Cod is brown above and whitish below. It has five irregular, oblique bars on the body that bifurcate ventrally. There are numerous small orange-brown spots on the head, body and median fins. The spots are pupil-sized in small fish (see middle image) but become relatively smaller and more numerous as the fish ages.

Size range

The species grows to 1 m in length.

Distribution

The Estuary Cod is recorded in tropical and warm temperate marine waters of the Indo-West Pacific. In Australia it is known from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north, and south to northern New South Wales.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums.  Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Epinephelus coioides

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Goldspotted Rockcod specimens in the Australian Museums.

What does this mean?

Habitat

Young fish are usually found in estuaries and silty areas although have also been reported from freshwaters. Adults are often found in marine offshore areas at depths around 100 m.

Feeding and Diet

It eats mainly fishes and crustaceans.

Classification

Species:
coioides
Genus:
Epinephelus
Family:
Serranidae
Order:
Perciformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

  1. Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
  2. Heemstra, P.C. & J.E. Randall. 1993. Groupers of the World. (Family Serranidae, Subfamily Epinephelinae). An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Grouper, Rockcod, Hind, Coral Grouper and Lyretail Species Known to Date. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 16. FAO. Rome. Pp. 382.


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated:

Tags Fishes, Ichthyology, Goldspotted Rockcod, Epinephelus coioides, Serranidae, Estuary Cod, brown, white underside, oblique bars, tropical water, temperate water, marine, Orange-spotted Grouper, Brown-spotted Grouper, Greasy Cod, Spotted River Cod, stripes or bands, 30 cm - 1 m, juveniles in freshwater,