Epinephelus costae, the gold-blotch grouper, is a marine ray-finned fish in the grouper family Epinephelidae. It occurs in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, where it can be found in shallow coastal waters.
Description The gold-blotch grouper grows up 1.4 m SL. The striped juveniles look strikingly different from adult fish, such that they were considered different species until 1882.
Color change Although adults typically exhibit the yellow blotch characteristic of this species, they can change color so that the yellow blotch disappears, the fish becoming instead marked by longitudinal stripes; these stripes are another characteristic trait of this species. The yellow blotch also tends to disappear after death.
Habitat The gold-blotch grouper can be found in shallow coastal waters, usually at depths of less than 80 m. However, it may venture to depths of up to 200 m.
Biology The overwhelming majority of the gold-blotch grouper's diet is composed of fish, but it will also feed on crustaceans and cephalopods.
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