Scientific Name
Lethrinus ornatus

Common Name
Ornate emperor

Biology
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8. Body color is dusky whitish, becoming lighter below, with four or six orange stripes. The posterior edges of the operculum and preoperculum are bright red. The head is brown or tan, sometimes with a red spot on the lower front edge of the eye. The pectoral fin is orangish; the pelvic, anal and most of the dorsal fin is whitish. The edge of the dorsal and caudal fin is reddish (Ref. 2295).

Classification

Classified By

Valenciennes, 1830

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Emperors or scavengers (Lethrinidae)

Distribution

Region

Indo-West Pacific

Distribution

Indo-West Pacific: Maldives (Ref. 30829) and Sri Lanka to the Ryukyu Islands, Papua New Guinea, and northeast Australia. Reported from Viet Nam but this is probably a misidentification (Ref. 2682).

Range

30°N - 19°S

Environment

Climate

Tropical

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

Unknown m

Depth To - meters

30 m

Zone

reef-associated

Environment

Marine; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range ? - 30 m (Ref. 37816)

Trophic Level

3.36999988555908 s.e. 0.43 Based on food items.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

True

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

45.0 cm

Common Length

Unknown cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: minor commercial

Vulnerability

Low to moderate vulnerability (26 of 100)

Resilience

High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.4-0.5)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated