Plectropomus areolatus

Passionfruit Coral Trout | Polkadot Cod | Spotted Coral Trout | Square-tail Coral Trout | Squaretail Coral Trout | Squaretail Coralgrouper | Squaretail Grouper | Squaretail Leopardgrouper
Plectropomus areolatus
Plectropomus areolatus, adult, Scott Reef, Western Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Plectropomus areolatus
Plectropomus areolatus, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Plectropomus areolatus
Plectropomus areolatus, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Plectropomus areolatus
Plectropomus areolatus, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Plectropomus areolatus
Plectropomus areolatus, Northern Great Barrier Reef, QLD, Photo: Andrew Green
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Plectropomus areolatus
Plectropomus areolatus
Plectropomus areolatus
Plectropomus areolatus
Plectropomus areolatus

Distribution

Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

Grey body with dense, relatively uniform covering of 5 mm diameter blue spots with dark margins, no elongated spots or stripes on face. Often with 5 darker saddles along back. Some individuals with a brown base colour and black spots. Length to 73 cm.


Information

Max Size: 73 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 24-31.1°C

Depth: 1-20m

Habitat Generalization Index: 1.97

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Occurrence: Infrequent (6.5% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Few (2 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: Joe Shields