A school of yellowfin bass. These small serranids pick plankton out of the water column near the reef.

Groupers are solitary carnivores that hunt near the bottom usually at dusk.

Food is drawn into their mouths by a powerful suction when they open their overly large mouths and then swallowed whole.

They differ further from the white bass by having nine to ten anal rays in comparison to eleven or thirteen.

Back of the fish is usually a dark olive green, and the abdomen and sides are often a silvery yellow.

Estuary to the Abyss: Exploring Along the Latitude 31-30 Transect: August 20 – September 1, 2004