Longfin Rockcod

The longfin grouper has a body with a standard length which is 2.8 to 3.2 times its depth. The dorsal profile of the head is smoothly curved. The preopercle is rounded or subangular while the gill cover has a nearly straight upper edge. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 16-18 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The caudal fin is rounded while the pectoral fin is around twice the length of the head. The overall colour is whitish on the head, body and fins and it is marked with many sizeable closely set hexagonal to roundish dark brown to blackish spots. On the upper head and body the spots are closer together and form a reticulated pattern while on the lower head and body the spots are more widely spaced and they are less well defined. There is a pattern of similar dark spots on dorsal, anal and caudal fins. There are two dark bands on the breast which join underneath the pectoral fin and almost join at the gill slitcreating an isolated pale patch on the ventral part of the breast and there is another pale area between the upper dark and a dark blotch that normally covers most of the base of the pectoral fin. …

The longfin grouper is found in the Indo-West Pacific, especially in the Indomalayan region. In the Indian Ocean it has only been recorded from the Andaman Islands and off Australia. In the Western Pacific Ocean its range extends from Japan and South Korea in the north south to Australia and east as far as the Solomon Islands. In Australia, it is distributed from Shark Bay in Western Australia along the northern coast and as far south as northern New South Wales, including the islands of the Great Barrier Reef.