Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Lethrinidae (Emperors or scavengers) > Lethrininae
Etymology: Lethrinus: Greek, lethrinia, a fish pertaining to genus Pagellus.
More on author: Valenciennes.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range ? - 40 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical; 30°N - 30°S, 33°E - 93°E
Indian Ocean: including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf south to Durban, South Africa, then east to North Bay Reef, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Reports of this species elsewhere are probably due to misidentification.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 21.3 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2295); common length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2295)
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8. The inner surface of the pectoral fin base is densely scaled; posterior angle of the operculum is fully scaled; cheeks without scales. Color of body is dark gray or yellow-brown, head is brown-gray. The centers of scales are lighter. Sometimes there is an irregular pattern of broken dusky bars becoming whitish on the lower part of the body. The pectoral and pelvic fins are white of pinkish. The dorsal and anal fins are mottled white or yellowish with reddish edge. The caudal fin has indistinct reddish bands.
Found in sandy areas near reefs during daytime, sometimes in small groups. At night, they are solitary and range over reef-flats and slopes where they feed primarily on echinoderms, mollusks and crustaceans (Ref. 2295). The taxonomy of this species has been considerably confused.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Exhibits juvenile hermaphroditism (Ref. 107020).
Carpenter, K.E. and G.R. Allen, 1989. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 9. Emperor fishes and large-eye breams of the world (family Lethrinidae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lethrinid species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(9):118 p. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 2295)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 25.5 - 29.2, mean 27.2 °C (based on 250 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01318 (0.00813 - 0.02137), b=3.03 (2.89 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.41 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (23 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): High to very high vulnerability (68 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 62.6 [43.1, 100.3] mg/100g; Iron = 1.08 [0.69, 1.62] mg/100g; Protein = 20.3 [17.7, 22.5] %; Omega3 = 0.13 [0.09, 0.19] g/100g; Selenium = 45.4 [27.9, 78.8] μg/100g; VitaminA = 21 [4, 115] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.38 [1.76, 3.14] mg/100g (wet weight);
