golden grouper

noun

: either of two Pacific groupers that have both a dark and a yellow color phase:

a

: a grouper (Mycteroperca pardalis) of the Gulf of California that is greenish gray to brown with brown spots or golden yellow more or less splashed with black

b

: a closely related fish of the Galápagos islands that is greenish brown with purple to brown spots or a solid brilliant orange-yellow and that is placed in a separate species (M. olfax) or considered a geographical variety of the more northerly fish

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