Scientific Name	Epinephelus stictus   Pronounce			by: ©Randall, John E.
Author	Randall & Allen, 1987	Depth	37 - 200M
Chinese	南海石斑魚	Poisonous Fish	No
Family_Chinese	鮨科	Economic Fish	Yes
Family	F338　Serranidae	Edible Fish	Yes	Chinese In Mainland China	南海石斑魚
Max Length	33 cm	Aquarium Fish	No	Common Name	石斑、過魚、中溝（澎湖）
Distribution in World	East India Ocean to West Pacific Ocean	Distribution in Taiwan	PonFu
Habitats	Benthos、Coastal	Holotype Locality	About 20 km south of Heywood Shoals, 13°33'S, 124°02'E, Western Australia, 138-142 m
Synonyms	Epinephelus diacanthus, Epinephelus sp.
Reference	The Live Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific, Vol.4(FAO,1999)  Randall, J. E. etc. 1987 Heemstra, P.C. etc. 1993 Carpenter, K. E. etc. 1999
Specimen List
Common Name	Six-banded grouper; Black-dotted grouper
Redlist Status	Not in IUCN Redlist
Characteristic	Dorsal fin with XI spines and 15 or 16 rays, the third or fourth spine longest, its length contained 2.7 to 3.4 times in head length and shorter than longest rays, the interspinous membranes incised; anal fin with III spines and 8 rays; pectoral fins not fleshy, with 18 to 20 rays; pectoral-fin length contained 1.7 to 1.9 times and pelvic-fin length contained 2.1 to 2.6 times in head length; caudal fin rounded; caudal-peduncle depth contained 3.8 to 4.2 times in head length. Lateral-body scales ctenoid, without auxiliary scales; lateral-line scales 48 to 51; lateral-scale series 84 to 96. Pyloric caeca 12.
habitats	E. stictus is found on mud or sand bottom in depths of 60 to 142 m.
Distribution	E. stictus is known only from southern Japan, Hong Kong, Hainan Island, Viet Na, South China ⁓ea, Java, and northwest Australia. The Japanese records (Katayama, 1960, 1988, ⁡s Epinephelus diacanthus<⁩/>) may be based on the single. specimen
Utility	Although this species was one of the most common species of grouper caught by trawlers in the vicinity of Hong Kong, Chan (1968) reported that it was not of much commercial importance. The small size and poor edible quality of this species probably accoun