Creature Feature Encyclopedia: Osteichthyes

Jewel-Spotted Grouper Cephalopholis argus

Groupers live in the coral reefs of the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific seas. When they are hungry, they blend in with their surroundings to wait for food. When a crustacean or tasty fish gets close, the grouper snaps open its giant mouth. This quick motion creates a vacuum, sucking in the victim. Groupers also have broad tails. As they spring into action, the first stroke of the tail is so powerful that it creates a sonic boom! During the day, cleaner shrimp, like the one on this grouper, gather to form cleaning stations. Fish visit them and the shrimp eat their parasites. The fish get clean and the shrimp get a free meal.

~A Swim through the Sea © 1994