This paper reports field observations on dying or illness feigning by the Comb Grouper Mycteroperca acutirostris in shallow waters of the southeastern Brazil's coast, and comments on this unique hunting behavior, similar to death feigning previously recorded for a cichlid species in Africa. An individual preying on young fishes at dusk successfully employed this unusual feeding strategy during five sequential foraging bouts. No other M. acutirostris individual was observed feigning dying, a behavior that seems to be a modification of the stalking tactic.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 May 2004
Dying or Illness Feigning: An Unreported Feeding Tactic of the Comb Grouper Mycteroperca acutirostris (Serranidae) from the Southwest Atlantic
Fernando Z. Gibran
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE