Trumpet emperor (Lethrinus miniatus)

Scientific name: Lethrinus miniatus Forster, 1801

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

Biology

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. 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 ). Marketed fresh or frozen.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Lethrinus miniatus
Family: Lethrinidae (Emperors or scavengers)
Order: Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 90.0
Common length: 40.0
Depth range: 5–30 m (16–98 ft)
Environment: Marine; brackish; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 5 - 30 m
Climate: Tropical
Distribution: Western Pacific: northern Australia (including Western Australia), New Caledonia, and the Ryukyu Islands. Occurrence records outside distributional range probably refer to Lethrinus olivaceus.
Conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Uses: Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.06-0.17; tm=2-3; tmax=22)

Sources

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

Last updated 27 September 2026