Speckled blue grouper

Distributed across the Indo-Pacific. In Japan, in the south of Japan and the Ogasawara Islands. A species of grouper, it reaches 70 cm in length. Often swims above sandy areas of the coral reef at medium depths rather than on the seabed. Its body is bright blueish gray with many small black spots. Its body is stocky but tall. Its Japanese name, Tsuchihozeri, comes from its behavior of digging a hole in the seabed in which to hide. This fish is a popular food and is caught commercially.