Cernia Nera - Epinephelus Caninus
Black Grouper (Epinephelus caninus) is a sea fish belonging to the Serranidae family, rare in Italian seas. Cernia Nera Black Grouper Epinephelus caninus intotheblue.it
Distribution and habitat
It is a very southern species, in fact it has its main range along the tropical African coasts. In the Mediterranean it is rare, it is sometimes fished in Sicilian and Greek waters. It generally lives between 100 and 200 meters deep on rocky or mixed surfaces.
It prefers warm waters and adults are found in depths varying between 100 and 150 meters, while young people get closer to the coast. Unknown reproduction. The diet is essentially made up of fish and cephalopod molluscs. It is caught almost exclusively with fishing lines and bottom lines. It is the largest species of grouper existing in the Mediterranean, being able to reach the length of one and a half meters and the weight of 80-90 kilos.
Description
Similar to the brown grouper, it is distinguished by: some dark lines behind the eye (characteristic effect of “rigged eyes”) dorsal, anal and caudal fins edged with white dark indistinct bands on the sides while the light spots typical of E.marginatus are always absent. It reaches truly remarkable dimensions: up to a maximum of 160 cm per 90 kg of weight (in African waters).
Supply
Carnivorous based on other fish and cephalopods similar to congeners.
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epinephelus_caninus
https://www.intotheblue.it/2019/03/29/la-cernia-nera/