Editing Grouper (section)

== Description ==
[[File: Only today I got to know this Fish better! What about you? (3852325083).jpg|thumb|left|Anatomy of a grouper]]

Groupers are [[teleost]]s, typically having a stout body and a large mouth. They are not built for long-distance, fast swimming. They can be quite large: in length, over a meter. The largest is the [[Atlantic goliath grouper]] (''Epinephelus itajara'') which has been weighed at {{convert|399|kg|lb|abbr=off}} and a length of {{convert|2.43|m|ftin|frac=2|abbr=on}},<ref name = DF>{{cite web | url = https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/epinephelus-itajara/ | title = Epinephelus itajara | work = Discover Fish | author = Robert H. Robins | access-date = 8 June 2020 | publisher = Florida Museum}}</ref> though in such a large group, species vary considerably. They swallow prey rather than biting pieces off of them. They do not have many teeth on the edges of their jaws, but they have heavy crushing tooth plates inside the [[pharynx]]. They habitually eat [[fish]], [[octopus]]es, and [[crustacean]]s. Some species prefer to [[Ambush predator|ambush their prey]], while others are active predators. Reports of fatal attacks on humans by the largest species, such as the [[giant grouper]] (''Epinephelus lanceolatus''), are unconfirmed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lieske |first1=E. |last2=Myers |first2=R. |year=1999 |title=Coral Reef Fishes |publisher=Princeton University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780691004815 |url-access=registration |edition=2 |isbn=0-691-02659-9}}</ref>

Their mouths and [[gill]]s form a powerful vacuum that pulls their prey in from a distance. They also use their mouths to dig into sand to form their shelters under big rocks, jetting it out through their gills.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Research indicates [[roving coralgrouper]]s (''Plectropomus pessuliferus'') sometimes cooperate with [[giant moray]]s in hunting.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Interspecific Communicative and Coordinated Hunting between Groupers and Giant Moray Eels in the Red Sea |year=2006 |publisher=Biology.plosjournals.org |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0040431 |last1=Bshary |first1=Redouan |last2=Hohner |first2=Andrea |last3=Ait-El-Djoudi |first3=Karim |last4=Fricke |first4=Hans |journal=PLOS Biology |volume=4 |issue=12 |pages=e431 |pmid=17147471 |pmc=1750927 |s2cid=14006488 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Groupers are also one of the only animals that eat invasive [[red lionfish]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2011-07-reveals-grouper-lionfish-invasion.html |title=Study reveals grouper can help control lionfish invasion |year=2011 |publisher=Biology.plosjournals.org}}</ref>