Fish ID from Raja Ampat

Hi all,

Spotted this one today at Blue Magic in Raja Ampat. Myself and the dive manager have gone through all the fish ID books at Kri, and we can't find it. We believe it to be a fairly common species, as we've both seen them before, but we're lost as to the ID for it.

Best estimate we have is : Anyperodon Leucogrammicus

Our reason for not thinking it is that species is the very distinct yellow tail, and the lack of distinct white lines on its body. Also, the spots on it seem a lot darker than any of the images we can see in the books or our google searching. It may be possible that it's a juvenile in transition, or a gender difference, but if it is, it's not listed in the books.

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Wetpup

You are correct, it is Anyperodon leucogrammicus, or Slender Grouper.

I agree that A. leucogrammicus is the only reasonable match. I don't have a problem with the white stripes being faint but the yellow tail and fewer spots are distinct. Would be nice to see similar patterns from other regions. If it is specific to Raja ampat it may be a regional variant or (sub)species.

Bart

PS: some Cephalopolis groupers have juveniles with yellow tails but none seem to be matching

I have finally returned home - with internet!

Thanks for the help. We thought that this may be the case as a variation on the theme, but it left us scratching our heads for a few days.

I just skimmed my photo library. I've got shots of this species from Komodo with a yellow tail. And from Fiji with a yellowish tail. The juveniles usually have a clear tail.