Serranidae

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Serranidae (sea bass, grouper; subclass Actinopterygii, order Perciformes) A very large family of marine fish, often with a somewhat robust, fully scaled body, and single, continuous, dorsal fin that consists of a spiny and a soft-rayed section. The mouth is often large; the lateral line is continuous from head to tail. Many species are hermaphroditic, the individual fish changing sex during its lifetime. Serranidae range in size from the relatively small Serranus cabrilla (comber), 35 cm, of the Atlantic, to Promicrops lanceolatus (Queensland grouper), 3.6 m, found in the Indo-Australian region. There are at least 370 species, found in temperate to tropical seas.

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