FAO Species Catalogue 16. [antikvár]

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT This document was prepared under the FAO Fisheries Department Regular Programme in the Marine Resources Service of the Fishery Resources and Environment Division. It is the sixteenth worldwide species catalogue in the FAO Fisheries Synopsis series. The serranid subfamily Epinephelinae is important in commercial, artisanal, and sport fisheries of tropical and subtropical seas. However, detailed fishery information is usually not available, largely because of the difficulty in correctly identifying species. This difficulty is because of past taxonomic confusion, the similarity of colour pattern of somé species, and ontogenetic changes and other variations in colour patterns. Therefore, this catalogue is timely as an accurate and complete worldwide guide to the identification of groupers. It is intended to help fisheries workers gather statistics and examine aspects of their biology that will be useful for the management of this fishery resource. The authors of the catalogue have studied groupers for many years by examining countless specimens, including most types, in museums, markets, and underwater on reefs, throughout the world. They have authored numerous scientific articles on groupers and recently completed a revision of the Epinephelinae from the Indo-Pacific region which was published in "Indo-Pacific Fishes," Honolulu, Hawaii, No. 20, November, 1991. This publication was the source for most of the taxonomic and ecological information for species occurring in that region. English FAO fish names proposed by the authors were established in consultation with J.S. Nelson, University of Alberta, Edmonton (Chairman, Committee on Common Names of Fishes, American Fisheries Society and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists). Official French names were created in consultation with J.-C. Quero, Institut Frangais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, la Rochelle. Spanish FAO names were adapted from the literature or translated from the English FAO names with the help of G. Burgos, Instituto Nációnál de Investigación and Desarollo Pesquero, Argentína. In view of the importance of colour patterns as diagnostic characters for identification, colour plates for most species have been included. Technical editors: K. E. Carpenter and C. Sommer, FAO, Rome. Illustrations: E. Heemstra and D. Voorvelt, J. L. B. Smith Institute and P. Lastrico, FAO, Rome . Page composition and indexing: M. Kautenberger-Longo and G. Sciarappa-Demuro, FAO, Rome. Heemstra, P.C.; Randall, J.E. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 16. Groupers of the world (Family Serranidae, Subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis. No. 125, Vol. 16. Rome, FAO. 1993.382 p., 522figs, 31 colour plates. ABSTRACT This is the sixteenth issue in the FAO series of worldwide annotated and illustrated catalogues of major groups of organisms that enter marine fisheries. It contains the 159 species in 15 genera known from the serranid subfamily Epinephelinae, including one species new to science. There is an introductory section with generál remarks on habitat and fisheries of the family, a glossary of technical terms, an illustrated key to each genus and all species, and a detailed account for all species. Species accounts include an illustration of each species, scientific and vernacular names, and information on habitat, biology, fisheries, size, relevant literature, and distribution. Following the species accounts are a list of nominal species in the subfamily, a table of species by major marine fishing areas, and colour plates. A list of all nominal species and their present allocations is given. The work is fully indexed and there is a comprehensive list of references to pertinent literature.