Description:
The red grouper, Epinephelus morio, is a moderately sized, robust grouper that grows to approximately 4.1 feet and may weigh 50.7 pounds or more.  Most, however, do not achieve this size.   Body depth is less than head length. Eyes are large, and the nostrils are unequal in size, with the posterior pair slightly larger than the anterior pair.  The preopercule has somewhat enlarged serrae present on the angle.  The opercule has a straight upper edge and 3 flat spines, with the center spine being the most elongate.  Scales are small and ctenoid, numbering 60-68 along the lateral line.  The dorsal fin has 11 spines, the second of which is the longest.  The soft dorsal has 16-17 soft rays.  The interspinous membrane is not notched.  The anal fin has 3 spines and 8-10 soft rays.  The pelvic fins are shorter than the pectoral fins.  The bases of soft dorsal and anal fins have scales and thicker skin.  The caudal peduncle lacks a saddle.  The caudal fin is truncate.  Body color is highly variable, but typical color is dark red to reddish brown, fading to pink or lighter red on the sides and ventral surface.  Whitish spots and blotches are scattered over the body surface, with small black dots around the eyes.  The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins all have dark outer margins.  When resting, the color pattern may become banded, as occurs in the Nassau grouper, E. striatus. 

Habitat:
The red grouper is a reef-associated, non migratory species that occurs in low numbers in depths of 16 - 984 feet.  Young juveniles are commonly encountered in seagrass beds less in south Florida.  Older juveniles occupy shallower water in hard bottom and reef habitats approximately 120 feet deep.  Immature fishes 1 – 6 years old and measuring less than 20 inches SL utilize nearshore reefs.  Adults occur primarily over rocky and muddy bottoms, on limestone ledges, wrecks, and caves, but are relatively uncommon on coral reefs.  Red grouper typically rest concealed in rocks, crevasses, or caverns. 

Similar Species:
The red grouper is distinguished from other members of its genus by the second dorsal spine, which is the longest; and by the interspinous membrane, which is not notched as it is in other Epinephelus species.  Further, the pelvic fins in the red grouper are shorter than the pectorals and are inserted posterior to the pectoral fin base.  The opposite condition is true for the Warsaw grouper, E. nigritus; the yellowedge grouper, E. flavolimbatus;  and the misty grouper, E. mystacinus;  all of which have longer pelvic fins than pectoral fins, and have the pelvic fins inserted anterior to the pectoral fin base. 

Red groupers are distinguished from members of the Mycteroperca by having a shorter body, 11 dorsal spines, 9 soft rays on the anal fin, and by thicker skin at the bases of the dorsal and anal fins.

Range:
The red grouper ranges from New England south through Bermuda, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas and the Caribbean, to southeastern Brazil.    Occurrences of this species north of the Carolinas are thought to be due to larval transport in the Gulf Stream rather than from immigration of adults.    

Primarily a continental species, the red grouper has the widest distribution of all western Atlantic groupers.  Its center of abundance extends from the Florida shelf into the eastern Gulf of Mexico.