Spangled emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus)

Scientific name: Lethrinus nebulosus Forssk?l, 1775

Spangled emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus)

The Spangled emperor (Lethrinus nebulosus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Lethrinidae.

Biology

Inhabit coral reefs, coralline lagoons, seagrass beds, mangrove swamps and coastal sand and rock areas. Adults solitary or in small schools; juveniles form large schools in shallow, sheltered sandy areas, also harbors where in seagrasses, algae or sponge habitats at various depths. Feed on echinoderms, mollusks and crustaceans, and to some extent on polychaetes and fish. A protogynous hermaphrodite. May have a coppery or iodine taste or smell in the Indian Ocean. It has been shown that this species can survive for long periods in salinities as low as 10 parts per thousand and therefore it is a potential estuarine aquaculture species. Utilized as a food fish.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Lethrinus nebulosus
Family
Lethrinidae (Emperors or scavengers)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
87.0
Common length
70.0
Depth range
10–75 m (33–246 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 10 - 75 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea, Persian Gulf and East Africa to southern Japan and Samoa. According to a genetic study, Lethrinus nebulosus and Lethrinus choerorynchus are two distinct species in Western Australia.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.09-0.16; tm=4-9; tmax=27)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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