Malabar Coast of their orientation to the sea and to maritime commerce, the Malabar coast cities feel very cosmopolitan, and has been home to some of the first groups of Jews, Syrian Christians, Muslims and Anglo-Indians in India. During Ming China's treasure voyages in the early 15th century, Admiral Zheng He's fleet often landed at the Malabar Coast. Soon after, Vasco da Gama landed near Calicut in 1498, establishing a sea route between India and Europe. Portugal became the first of several European maritime empires to grow rich from the spice trade with this area. The Malabar Coast is repeatedly referenced in
Malabar grouper Malabar grouper The Malabar grouper or greasy grouper, "Epinephelus malabaricus", is a species of marine fish in the family Serranidae. The Malabar grouper is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific area from the eastern coast of Africa to the Tonga Islands, Red Sea included.> It has also been recorded in the Levantine Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, as a Lessespian migrant through the Suez Canal, although it is still rather rare in the Mediterranean. This grouper lives in various habitats, such as lagoons, mangroves, coral and rocky reefs, sandy and muddy bottom areas, between 2 and 150