Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Perciformes (Perch-likes) >
Lethrinidae (Emperors or scavengers) > Lethrininae
Etymology: Lethrinus: Greek, lethrinia, a fish pertaining to genus Pagellus.
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 5 - 30 m (Ref. 2295). Tropical, preferred ?; 27°N - 34°S, 113°E - 168°E
Western Pacific: The Ryukyu Islands, eastern Philippines, northern Australia, and New
Caledonia (Ref. 114226). Occurrence records outside distributional range probably refer to Lethrinus olivaceus (Ref. 2295).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 36.1 range ? - 42.2 cm
Max length : 90.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2295); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9987); max. published weight: 9.6 kg (Ref. 9987); max. reported age: 22 years (Ref. 2290)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 10;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 9;
Anal
spines: 3;
Anal
soft rays: 8. Snout moderately long. Cheek without scales. Body silvery, tan or yellowish in color, often with a series of 8 or 9 dark bars. Vertical bars may be absent in some individuals. Base of pectoral fin red. Occasionally a red streak is present, originating on the upper operculum, passing beneath the eye and on to the snout. Reddish lips. Fins pale or reddish, sometimes brilliant red on membranes near base of pelvic fin and between spinous rays of dorsal and anal fin. The base of scales often black.
Adults inhabit coral reefs during daytime where they feed occasionally in sand and rubble areas between coral heads. At night, they move out over the sandy sea floor and forage actively. Usually occur in small schools. Juveniles live in shallow, inshore waters such as seagrass and mangrove areas, moving into deeper water as they age (Ref. 27260, 28202). Feed mainly on crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks and fish, with crabs and sea urchins predominating. Much of the information reported for this species was based on misidentifications and referred to L. olivaceous (see Ref. 2295). Marketed fresh or frozen (Ref. 9987).
L. miniatus are serial hermaphrodites with a protogynous strategy (i.e, female first, male second). Sexual bimodality was present in both age and length frequency distributions (Brown et al 1994).
Juveniles live in shallow, inshore waters such as seagrass and mangrove areas, moving into deeper water as they age (Ref. 27260, 28202). Also Ref. 103751.
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. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
More information
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01778 (0.01102 - 0.02869), b=3.04 (2.90 - 3.18), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.0 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.1-0.4; tm=2-3; tmax=22).
Prior r = 0.62, 2 SD range = 0.36 - 1.09, log(r) = -0.48, SD log(r) = 0.28, Based on: 2 M, 6 K, 2 tgen, 1 tmax, records
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (53 of 100) .
