Bluespotted Coral Trout, Plectropomus laevis (Lacépède 1801)


Other Names: Blacksaddle Coralgrouper, Blacksaddled Coralgrouper, Blacksaddled Coraltrout, Black-saddled Coral-trout, Blue Spot Trout, Blue-spot Trout, Chinese Footballer, Footballer Cod, Footballer Coral Trout, Footballer Trout, Footballer-cod, Oceanic Coral Trout, Oceanic Trout, Tiger Trout

Footballer phase of the Bluespotted Coral Trout, Plectropomus laevis, in the Lizard Island area, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Source: Rick Stuart-Smith / Reef Life Survey. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:
A coral trout with two distinct colour phases: the "footballer phase" which is whitish with black saddles, a yellow caudal peduncle and yellow fins, and a greyish form with a dark head, five dark saddles along the back, and small blue spots on body.
Juveniles mimic the poisonous Blacksaddle Toby, Canthigaster valentini.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2020, Plectropomus laevis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4517

Bluespotted Coral Trout, Plectropomus laevis (Lacépède 1801)

More Info


Distribution

Rowley Shoals, Scott Reef, Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef to One Tree Island, Queensland, reefs in the Coral Sea, and the Lord Howe Island region, Tasman Sea. Inhabits lagoons and seawards reefs.

Remarks

Juvenile Bluespotted Coral Trout mimic the poisonous Blacksaddle Toby, Canthigaster valentini.

Similar Species

The greyish phase differs from the similar Passionfruit Coral Trout, Plectropomus areolatus, in having a dark head, five dark saddles along the back, and smaller blue spots on body.

Species Citation

Labrus laevis Lacépède 1801, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 3: 431, 477, pl. 23(2). Type locality: 'Le grand golfe de l'Inde' [= Indian Ocean].

Author

Bray, D.J. 2020

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Bluespotted Coral Trout, Plectropomus laevis (Lacépède 1801)

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.

Ceccarelli, D., Choat, J.H., Ayling, A.M., Richards, Z., van Herwerden, L., Ayling, A., Ewels, G., Hobbs, J. –P. & Cuff, B. 2008. Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve Marine Survey – 2007. Report to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts by C&R Consulting and James Cook University. 80 pp. 

Choat, J.H., Liu, M., Craig, M.T., Yeeting, B. & Robinson, J. 2008. Plectropomus laevis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T64412A12779966. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T64412A12779966.en. Downloaded on 14 December 2016.

Choat, J.H., van Herwerden, L., Robbins, W.D., Hobbs, J.P. & Ayling, A.M. 2006. A report on the ecological surveys undertaken at Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs, February 2006. Report by James Cook University to the Department of the Environment and Heritage. 65 pp.

Coleman, N. 1981. Australian Sea Fishes North of 30°S. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 297 pp.

Craig, M.T., Sadovy de Mitcheson, Y.J. & Heemstra, P.C. 2011. Groupers of the World: a Field and Market Guide. Grahamstown, South Africa : NISC Ltd 356 pp., Appendix 47 pp. 

Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp.

Frisch, A.J. 2006. Are juvenile coral-trouts (Plectropomus) mimics of poisonous pufferfishes (Canthigaster) on coral reefs? Marine Ecology 27: 247–252. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0485.2006.00103.x

Heemstra, P.C. & Randall, J.E. 1993. Groupers of the World (Family Serranidae, Subfamily Epinephelinae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of grouper, rockcod, hind, coral grouper and lyretail species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125 Vol. 16. Rome: FAO. pp. 1-382 

Heemstra, P.C. & Randall, J.E. 1999. Family Serranidae. pp. 2442-2548 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790. 

Hoese, D.F., Bowling, J., Russell, B. & Randall, J.E. 1981. A preliminary revision of Australian species of Coral Trout of the genus Plectropomus. Occasional Report of the Australian Museum 2: 1-28.

Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Biodiversity of shallow reef fish assemblages in Western Australia using a rapid censusing technique. Records of the Western Australian Museum 20: 247-270.

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) 

Kailola, P.J., Williams, M.J., Stewart, P.C., Reichelt, R.E., McNee, A. & Grieve, C. 1993. Australian Fisheries Resources. Canberra : Bureau of Resource Sciences and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation 422 pp. 

Kuiter, R.H. 1992. Tropical Reef-Fishes of the Western Pacific, Indonesia and Adjacent Waters. Jakarta : PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama 314 pp. pls. 

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp. 

Lacépède, B.G. 1801. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : chez Plassan Vol. 3 558 pp. 34 pls. 

Lacépède, B.G. 1802. Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Paris : chez Plassan Vol. 4 728 pp. 16 pls. 

Pratchett, M.S., Cameron, D.S., Donelson, J. et al. 2017. Effects of climate change on coral grouper (Plectropomus spp.) and possible adaptation options. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 27: 297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-016-9455-9

Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press 707 pp.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs. 

Randall, J.E. & Heemstra, P.C. 1991. Revision of Indo-Pacific groupers (Perciformes: Serranidae: Epinephelinae), with descriptions of five new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 20: 1-332.

Randall, J.E. & Hoese, D.F. 1986. Revision of the groupers of the Indo-Pacific genus Plectropomus (Perciformes: Serranidae). Indo-Pacific Fishes 13: 1-31 figs 1-3 pls 1-5 

Russell, B.C. 1983. Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Special Publication Series 1: 1-184 figs 1-2 

van Herwerden, L., Davies, C.R. & Choat, J.H. 2002. Phylogenetic and evolutionary perspectives of the Indo-Pacific grouper Plectropomus species on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Journal of Fish Biology 60(6): 1591-1596.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37311079

Biology:Hermaphrodite

Conservation:IUCN Vulnerable

Depth:4-90 m

Fishing:Commercial, recreational fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:125 cm TL

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CAAB distribution map