Cephalopholis aurantia is not encountered very often due to its deep-dwelling nature, and it is similar to C. spiloparaea, which differs in colour, and C. sonnerati, which differs in colour pattern, body depth, and number of scales.
Details
§ 01
size
Common to 30 cm; max. 60 cm
color
Pale orange to orange yellow, with fin spots on head and anterior dorsally on body and on base of dorsal fin. Posterior margin of caudal fin with a pale blue edge and black sub-marginal line.
Grouper that inhabit deep waters are typically found in depths greater than 100 m.
distinctive characters
The dorsal fin has nine spines and fourteen to sixteen rays, the anal fin has three spines and nine rays, and the pectoral fin has seventeen to eighteen rays. The body depth is two point four to two point nine times the standard length, the preopercle is rounded and finely serrated, with a fleshy lower edge. The edges of the subopercle and interopercle are distinctly serrated, and the pelvic fins reach or are slightly shorter than the anus. The caudal fin is rounded.