ABSTRACT
Groupers are a species-rich group of marine reef fish whose classification has undergone many changes and remains controversial across various levels of the taxonomic hierarchy from family to species. Historically, their classification was based on morphology. In the past decade or so, a number of molecular phylogenetic studies, using a variety of markers and covering many taxonomic levels, have contributed significantly to clarifying the evolutionary relationships among groupers and creating a more coherent classification. This chapter discusses the chronological development of grouper classification from the morphology-era to the molecular-era, from family to genera, and to species. The most comprehensive grouper phylogeny developed to date and its implications for taxonomy are discussed. By consolidating both morphological and molecular information, this chapter presents a revised grouper classification scheme that reflects evolutionary relationships of this diverse group of marine fish.
