Red hind
(Epinephelus guttatus)
Image source: Jeff Strong | inaturalist.org
General data
The red hind has a robust, compressed body which is deepest at the origin of the dorsal fin, the standard length being 2.7 to 3.1 times the depth. The gill cover has three flat spines on its margin.[The preopercle has a finely serrated margin and protrudes slightly near its lower edge.
The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 15-16 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. It has a slightly convex tail.
This species is greenish grey to light brown on its upper body fading to white on the lower body, with many well-spaced dull orange-red to brown spots covering the head, body and fins. There are five indistinct oblique bars made up of darker spots on the flanks.
This species attains a maximum total length of 76 centimetres (30 in), although they are more commonly around 40 centimetres (16 in) in length, and the maximum published weight is 22 kilograms (49 lb).
The red hind is found in the Western Atlantic. Its range extends from Bermuda and North Carolina and along the eastern coast of the United States into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Its range is said to extend south as far as Brazil but there are no confirmed records from south of Venezuela.
