see text Grammistidae Bleeker, 1857 Serranidae is a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes.

Although many species are small, in some cases less than 10 cm (3.9 in), the giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) is one of the largest bony fishes in the world, growing to 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) in length and 400 kg (880 lb) in weight.

Serranids are generally robust in form, with large mouths and small spines on the gill coverings.

[3] They produce large quantities of eggs and their larvae are planktonic, generally at the mercy of ocean currents until they are ready to settle into adult populations.

Like other fish, serranids harbour parasites, including nematodes, cestodes, digeneans,[4] monogeneans, isopods, and copepods.