Family : Serranidae (Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets) , subfamily: Epinephelinae
Order : Perciformes  (perch-likes)
Class : Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Fishbase Name : Brownspotted grouper
Fish Name : Epinephelus chlorostigma
Max size : 75.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 4787); max. published weight: 7,000 g (Ref. 4787); max. reported age: 29 years
Environment : reef-associated; non-migratory ; depth range 4 - 300 m
Climate : tropical; 37°N - 34°S
Global Importance : fisheries: commercial
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.17-0.19; tmax=29)Distribution : Indo-Pacific: Red Sea to Natal, South Africa and eastward to the western Pacific, north to southern Japan, south to New Caledonia. Records from Persian Gulf are apparently misidentifications of Epinephelus polylepis. Not verified from the Comoros, continental shelf between Oman and Cambodia, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, and Australia.
Diagnosis : Dorsal spines (total): 11-11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 16-18; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 8-8. Live color whitish, with small dark brown spots on head, body, and fins except ventrally on head, thorax, and lower abdomen. Can assume a transient color phase of 3-4 rows of very large round dark spots on top of the small-spot pattern. 96-125 scales in longitudinal series. Pyloric caeca 26-52.
Biology : Found over a wide range of habitats like seagrass beds and outer reef slopes (Ref. 5213); in the South China Sea, it is also found on mud bottoms. Feeds on small fishes and crustaceans (mainly stomatopods and crabs). Sexual transition from female to male occurs between 35-45 cm, but not all females change sex. Forms spawning aggregations (Ref. 55367). E. chlorostigma is closely related and very similar to E. polylepis and E. gabriellae which seem to replace it in the northwestern Indian Ocean
Threatened : Dangerous:  
Dangerous : harmless
Coordinator : Heemstra, Phillip C.
Main Ref : Heemstra, P.C. and J.E. Randall. 1993. (Ref. 5222)

India country information
Common Names : കലവ, हीकरू, Brown-spotted reef-cod, Hekru, Kalava
Status : native
Salinity : marine
Uses : no uses