Cephalopholis argus CEAR 60cm

1. Cephalopholis argusCEAR 60cm • Dark brown with numerous dark-edged blue spots on head, body, fins • Large pale area on chest • At times has 5-6 broad pale bars often on posterior half of body

2. -Orange-red to reddish brown • Many bright blue spots that are smaller than pupil and usually faintly dark edged. • Spots present on body, median fins, outer edge of caudal fin soft portion of dorsal and anal fin • Can change color to have disruptive irregular dark bars • Juveniles can be yellow with blue spots Cephalopholis miniataCEMI 45cm

3. Dense network of red spots on head; more loosely scattered, fainter spots on body and fins • Often with scattered white blotches on body Cephalopholis sonneratiCESO 49cm

4. Cephalopholis sexmaculataCESX 50cm • Orange-red with small blue spots on head, body and median fins • often spots form short blue lines on head and median fins • 6 black spots on back extending into dorsal fin which break into banding on body

5. P. Ayotte • Cadual fin lunate • Pelvic fins extening posterior to anus • Body yellowish brown with many small spots to short dashes (blue, lavender or pink) • Head with close-set dark-edged (blue to lavender spots) • Fins with small spots (blue to lavender) • Posterior margin of median and pectoral fins broadly yellow • Juveniles with very small blue spots and broad black stripe from eye to below rear. • Large black spot dorsally at base of caudal fin. • Above strip orange below white. Variola loutiVALO 66cm

6. Greenish to brownish gray or oranges brown, pale ventrally • 16-20 narrow dark brown to orangish brown, brown bars on side of body • 4 blue lines on head ( can be broken into dashes and spots) • Black spot about size of eye posteriorly on side of caudal peduncle • Transient color phase with large white area in middle of back with two blackish areas of about the same size. • Cadual peduncle nearly white but black spot. Juvenile • Purrle to brown with a bright orange-red stripe in dorsal and anal fins • Each lobe of cadual fin extending onto upper and lower edges of caudal peduncle. Gracila albomarginataGRAL 50cm

7. Cephalopholis urodetaCEUR 28cm • Reddish brown to brownish red • Darker posteriorly with or without 6 broad irregular dark bars • -head and nap with numerous close-set orange-red spots • Caudal fin with 2 oblique white bands that converge posteriorly • Juveniles develop the white caudal bands at a length of about 5cm. • Indian ocean form lack the white bands in the caudal fin.

8. Epinephelus fasciatusEPFA 43cm • Light greenish gray to pale yellowish red • Body with or without 5 orangish brown to dark red bands about equal to pale interspaces • Outer triangular part of each spinous dorsal membrane black or deep red

9. Pair of prominent white saddles on forehead and middle of back Epinephelus maculatus EPMA 60cm

10. Whitish with many dark brown spots spots on body mostly smaller than pupil, close-set except ventrally • Dark spots on head progressively shorter anteriorly • Large black spot on back and into base of last 4 dorsal spines 2 similar spots below soft portion of dorsal fin and 1 dorsally on cadual peduncle • -All fins with dark brown spots Epinephelus spilotoceps EPSL 32cm

11. Polygonal dark orangish brown spots of approximate pupil size with a narrow space separating spots forming a fine reticulum. • Large black spot on back extening into dorsal fin between eighth spine and first soft ray. Epinephelus melanostigma EPML 33cm

12. Dark saddle on tail base • Small, close-set, dark brown spots superimposed over large, irregular, brown blotches on head and body; • All fins with numerous small, dark brown spots and scattered, larger white spots Epinephelus polyphekadion EPPO 75cm

13. Yellowish orange to brownish red • Usually with 5 faint dark bars on body • Fins orangish except dorsal fin which is gray-brown • Tip of dorsal spins deep red • -Juveniles with upper part of first 3 dark bars on body black and second and third bars extending into dorsal fin • - Head above level of lower edge of eye black, dorsal part with 4 irregular narrow whitish bars. Epinephelus retouti EPRI 47cm

14. 5 large blackish blotches usually present along back • Dark margin on tail, rear dorsal, and anal fins • Median fins colored like body only basally Epinephelus socialis EPSO 52cm

15. Head and body with polygonal (mostly hexagonal) brown to reddish brown spots about the size of eye • spots merge on their sides leaving only a triangular white dot at each angular corner • 5 groups of spots dorsally on body darker than others • Large yellow0brown spot behind eye and operclum Epinephelus hexagonatusEPHE 26cm

16. Whitish to light brown with numerous close-set (except ventrally) round to hexagonal, dark brown spots with few of which maybe joined to form short, dark, lengthwise bands • Fins with dark brown spots that are progressively smaller Epinephelus merra EPME 33cm

17. Aethaloperca rogaaAERO 60cm -Dark brown can have orange cast -Whitish bar often centered on abdomen -Outer part of dorsal spins deep orange to brownish red - Juveniles mimic dark damselfishes

18. Epinephelus howlandiEPHO 55cm • Pale gray, shading to white ventrally with numerous well-separated, dark brown to black spots much smaller than eye • Spots on head body (except ventrally) and fins (may be absent on pectorals) • Blackish spot about as large as eye containing 4 to 8 black spots on back and basally in dorsal fin • A blackish spot containing 2 black spots dorsally on caudal peduncle • Cadual fin with white posterior margin and often submarginal black zone.

19. Darkish saddles on back • Series of black spots form dark margin on rear dorsal, anal and tail fins • . Epinephelus tauvinaEPTA 75 cm

20. Cephalopholis spiloparaeaCESP 22cm • Light red, mottled and blotched with dark red or redish brown • Caudal fin with a bluish white posterior margin that becomes submarginal at corners

21. Light reddish brown, shading to whitish ventrally, with numerous red-orange spots, most evident ventrally • Black saddle-like spot dorsally on caudal peduncle • With a small spot behind • Dark brown spot on upper part of opercular membrane Cephalopholis leopardusCELE 20cm

22. Epinephelus macrospilosEPMC 51cm -Pale gray-brown with well paced dark brown to orange-brown spots of unequal size (but not larger than pupil) on head, body and fins except pectoral (though these fins may have a few spots basally) -Caudal fin with a yellow to white posterior margin • Soft portions of dorsal and anal fins with a similar narrow margin • Distinguished by howlandi by lacking the large blackish spot at rear of spinous portion of dorsal fin and more robust body.

23. No black spot on back Spots smaller than eye Large spot on back, 2 smaller below soft part of dorsal 1 on cadual Spotted! Hexagonal structures on dorsal fading to ventral 4 black spots Hexagonal structure throughout body merging to rows • Hexagonal structure merge to look like white spots - Lg dark colored spot behind eye and one on operculum Lg hexagonal structure with 1 lg black spot on back and into dorsal

24. Epinephelus macrospilosEPMC 51cm Epinephelus howlandiEPHO 55cm Epinephelus merra EPME 33cm Epinephelus spilotoceps EPSL 32cm Epinephelus melanostigma EPML 33cm Epinephelus hexagonatusEPHE 26cm