Red Sea- Fish ID please

I need help with identifying fish photos from the Red Sea. (Common names are sufficient if that's all you know)

Thanks!

-Jessica

I need help with identifying fish photos from the Red Sea. (Common names are sufficient if that's all you know)

Thanks!

-Jessica

Without the dorsal, the first one is a bit difficult, but I'll go with Epinephelus tauvina: Greasy grouper

The second is a Sabre squirrelfish: Sargocentron spiniferum.

Marli

First appears to be Plectropomus pessuliferus, Roving coral grouper

Second is Freckled hawkfish, Paracirrehites forsteri

Cheers,

Marli

First appears to be Plectropomus pessuliferus, Roving coral grouper

Second is Freckled hawkfish, Paracirrehites forsteri

Cheers,

Marli

Thanks Marli for the identification help.

I am having an exhibit and it's helpful to to have a fish id in case someone asks ;-).

I also checked out your website! Really great shots!!!

-Jessica

www.jessicavasale.com

I joined your to threads. There is no need to start more than one ID request topic at once.

I joined your to threads. There is no need to start more than one ID request topic at once.

I couldn't have download all four images in one 'topic'......

You can add more pictures by replying to the topic you've allready started.

You can add more pictures by replying to the topic you've allready started.

Got it. Thanks.

I agree with Marli on three of these but just wondered about the red grouper. Groupers vary a lot in colour and can be quite hard to ID, especially with just a head shot. I feel it could equally be Cephalopholis miniata which is very, very common in the Red Sea. It goes under a variety of common names - Coral Rock Cod, Coral Grouper and Jewel Grouper to name a few

It was a problematic ID for me, too. I didn't feel it matched any of the "blue dotted" redish groupers. The pectoral just doesn't look right. The one it most looked like to me was P. oligacanthus, but the range is wrong. Over to the experts.

Cheers,

Marli

Interesting, the color in groupers does vary, but the head shape doesn't. While I agree with Marli and cannot decide on the ID of the red grouper, of one thing I am absolutely 100% sure, it is a Plectropomus species and not Cephalopholis miniata. In this case, I vote for Plectropomus pessuliferus. As Marli says, it also resembles P. oligacanthus, but P. oligacanthus doesn't occur in the Red Sea.

The other Plectropomus species in the Red Sea are very distinctive and don't look like that at all. Marli, you may be finding this to be different from the regular P. pessuliferus because of its color, and you are right on that, the population in the Red Sea is considered as a different subspecies: Plectropomus pessuliferus marisburi. For more info and photos check these pages:

Plectropomus pessuliferus

Cephalopholis miniata

Check how different their heads look.

Luiz