Malabar Coast part of this narrow coast is referred to as the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests. The Malabar Coast, throughout recorded history from about 3000BC, had been a major trading center in commerce with Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Jerusalem and the Arab world. Its most famous ports (both defunct and functional) were 'Naura (Kannur), Balita (Vizhinjam), Kochi (formerly Ernakulam), Calicut (formerly Kozhikode [see List of renamed Indian cities and states]), and Mangalore, the most famous of them being Muziris, and the Oddeway Torre settlement (part of Danish India) have served as centers of the Indian Ocean trade, for centuries. Because
Malabar grouper spots. The tail fin is rounded. "Epinephelus malabaricus" is a protogynous hermaphrodite, as these fishes at some point in their lifespan change sex from female to male. Malabar grouper are voracious predators, they feed on fish, crustaceans, and occasionally, cephalopods. As most fish, the Malabar grouper harbours a variety of parasites, including the diplectanid monogeneans "Pseudorhabdosynochus manifestus", "P. maaensis", "P. malabaricus", "P. manipulus", "P. marcellus", and "P. maternus". Malabar groupers are harvested for food, sport, and commercially; some are grown in aquaculture. Malabar grouper The Malabar grouper or greasy grouper, "Epinephelus malabaricus", is a species of marine fish in the