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Lethrinus xanthochilus Klunzinger, 1870

Yellowlip emperor
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Lethrinus xanthochilus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Lethrinus xanthochilus (Yellowlip emperor)
Lethrinus xanthochilus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

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: Klunzinger.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 0 - 150 m (Ref. 2295). Tropical; 31°N - 28°S, 30°E - 134°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea, East Africa and the central Indian Ocean to the Marquesas Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 70.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 59.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 37816); max. published weight: 5.4 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8. This species is distinguished by the following characters: body moderately elongate, its depth 2.8-3.5 times in standard length; head length 1-1.2 times in body depth, 2.6-3 times in SL, dorsal profile near eye convex; snout length about 1.7-2.5 times in HL, measured without the lip the snout is 0.8-0.9 times in cheek height, its dorsal profile nearly straight, snout angle relative to upper jaw between 45° and 60°; interorbital space distinctly concave; posterior nostril a longitudinal or vertical oblong opening, closer to orbit than anterior nostril; eye situated close to dorsal profile, its length 2.8-5.1 times in HL; cheek height 2.3-3.4 times in HL; lateral teeth in jaws conical; outer surface of maxilla smooth; D X, 9 with the third dorsal-fin spine the longest, its length 2-2.8 times in body depth; A III, 8 with the first soft ray usually the longest, its length approximately equal to or shorter than length of base of soft-rayed portion of anal fin and 1.3-1.7 times in length of entire anal-fin base; pectoral-fin rays 13; pelvic-fin membranes between rays closest to body with dense melanophores; cheek without scales; 47-48 lateral-line scales; 4 ½ scale rows between lateral line and base of middle dorsal-fin spines; 15-16 scale rows in transverse series between origin of anal fin and lateral line; usually 15 rows in lower series of scales around caudal peduncle; 5-8 scales in supratemporal patch; inner surface of pectoral fins without scales; posterior angle of operculum fully scaly. Colour of body yellowish grey with scattered irregular dark spots; lips yellowish, upper lip more intense; a red spot at upper base of pectoral fins; fins bluish grey and mottled, bases of fins lighter and edges of dorsal and caudal fins reddish (Ref. 114226).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in small groups over seagrass beds, sand and rubble areas of coral reefs, deep channels, and lagoons. Usually found in shallow water to depths of 150 m. Usually seen solitary but sometimes swims in small groups. Juveniles in seagrass beds (Ref. 48635). Feeds mainly on crustaceans, fishes, and echinoderms. Caught mostly with handline, traps, and trawl (Ref. 114226). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128797.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 09 March 2015

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 130160)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
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Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
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References
References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.5 - 29, mean 27.9 °C (based on 1520 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01514 (0.01013 - 0.02262), b=2.96 (2.84 - 3.08), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.14-0.30).
Prior r = 0.33, 95% CL = 0.22 - 0.49, Based on 2 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (57 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Very high vulnerability (76 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 30.6 [21.9, 41.4] mg/100g; Iron = 0.718 [0.493, 0.992] mg/100g; Protein = 20.2 [17.5, 22.3] %; Omega3 = 0.133 [0.100, 0.174] g/100g; Selenium = 55.2 [30.8, 81.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 28.6 [6.3, 148.6] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.88 [1.47, 2.31] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.