云纹石斑鱼（学名：Epinephelus moara）是鮨科、石斑鱼属鱼类。体长椭圆形，略侧扁且粗壮。头大长大于高。尾柄短且高。吻短圆。眼较小，侧上位，眼间隔略隆起。鼻孔每侧2个，前鼻孔具瓣膜。口中大，端位，口裂略倾斜。上下颌均具齿，上颌前端具2圆锥齿，左右侧齿较小，下颌齿细尖。鳃孔大，前鳃盖骨下角具5～6枚细锯齿棘，鳃盖膜不与峡部相连。体和头部被细小栉鳞。侧线1条，完全，与背缘平行。

Epinephelus moara is a member of Serranidae and belongs to the genus of fishes called Epinephelus. Its features are as follows: its body is long and oval as well as laterally flattened and stout; its head is larger than its length; its caudal peduncle is short and high; its proboscis is short and round; its small eyes locate on the upper sides of its head, with slightly elevated interocular septa; it has two noses on each side of its face and the anterior nostrils have valves; its large mouth has an end position with a slightly inclined oral fissure; both the maxilla and mandible are dentate, with 2 conical teeth on the front of the maxilla, smaller lateral teeth on the left and right, and finely pointed mandibular teeth; its gill pores are large, with 5 to 6 fine serrated spines at the lower angle of the anterior gill cover, and the gill cover membrane is not connected to the isthmus; its body and head are covered with fine ctenoid scales; it has a lateral line, which is completely paralleled with the dorsal margin.

云纹石斑鱼生活在水深100米以内、礁石或泥质底质的中下层海域。云纹石斑鱼成鱼性情凶猛，地域性强，一般不集群。云纹石斑鱼属肉食性鱼类，有相互蚕食的现象，特别是在稚幼鱼阶段，小个体往往会被大个体所吞食。在自然海域中食物多以鱼类、头足类、甲壳类及软体动物为主。

Epinephelus moara lives in the lower and middle waters of reefs or muddy substrates which are no more than 100 meters away from the sea surface. The adult epinephelus moara is fierce and tends to protect its territory, and it usually lives alone. It is a kind of carnivorous fish and there is the phenomenon of cannibalism, especially when the victim is in the stage of juvenility. In the natural sea, its foods are mainly fishes, cephalopods, crustaceans and mollusks.

它们主分布中国、日本。在我国被称为真油斑，真正的油斑就是指的云纹石斑鱼，而在日本也是梦幻之鱼：九绘(クエ)。

The epinephelus moara mainly lives in China and Japan. In China, it is called channa argus, and the real channa argus refers to the epinephelus moara, while in Japan it is called the fish of dreams (クエ in Japanese).

最早的时候云纹石斑鱼被认为是和褐石斑鱼（油斑、假油斑、土斑）同种，后来才独立出来。云纹石斑鱼比褐石斑鱼更有好的口感，而且相对少见。

At the earliest times, the epinephelus moara was considered to be the same species as the epinephelus bruneus and became independent after a long time. The epinephelus moara is more delicious than epinephelus bruneus and is relatively rare.

直到近代开始养殖云纹石斑鱼，真油斑才在市场大量出现，而且即便是养殖的云纹石斑鱼，口感也是一流的。

It was not until recent times when the farming of epinephelus moara began that channa argus appeared in large numbers in the Chinese market, and even the cultivated epinephelus moara was still palatable.

云龙斑，是由云纹石斑鱼和鞍带石斑鱼杂交后的产物，因其生长快、抗病强、抗寒冷的特点，已经取代了云纹石斑鱼的养殖，大规模的出现在市场，也正因如此，许多养殖逃逸、放生等行为，该鱼可能已经对云纹石斑鱼的生态位造成了很大的影响。云龙石斑鱼十分好认，条纹和云纹石斑鱼差异很大。

Yunlong grouper, a hybrid of epinephelus moara and epinephelus lanceolatus, has replaced the farming of epinephelus moara and appeared in the market on a large scale because of its fast growth speed and strong resistance against diseases and cold weather. And because of its advantages, many runaway or released Yunlong groupers may have caused a great negative impact on the ecological position of epinephelus moara. The Yunlong grouper is easy to be recognized because its stripes are very different from those of the epinephelus moara.

最近市场和野外目前大量发现一种非自然杂交物种，后来发现他们是云纹石斑鱼杂交点带石斑鱼，当他们头部还有黑点的时候仍然比较容易和云纹石斑鱼区分，但大多时候他们身上的黑点是和另一种杂交石斑鱼—珍珠龙趸一样可以褪去，要区分它们，已经很难了…

Recently a large number of unnatural hybrid species have been found in the market and field. Later researchers find that this new species is a hybrid of Yunlong grouper and epinephelus coioides. When the hybrids still have black spots on their head, it is still easier for them to be distinguished from epinephelus moara. However, most of the time the black spots on their body can fade away, like another hybrid—blotchy rock cod, which make it difficult to distinguish them from the epinephelus moara.