Ehrenberg's Snapper, Lutjanus ehrenbergii (Peters 1869)

Other Names: Black-spot Snapper, Ehrenberg's Seaperch

Summary:

A dark brown tropical snapper becoming whitish with a silvery sheen below, usually a series of 4-5 narrow yellow stripes along the sides below the lateral line, and a prominent round, black spot crossing the lateral line on the back below the rear of the spinous part of the dorsal fin. The scale rows along the back run parallel to the lateral line.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Lutjanus ehrenbergii in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/554

Ehrenberg's Snapper, Lutjanus ehrenbergii (Peters 1869)

More Info

Distribution	Northern Great Barrier Reef to Townsville, Queensland. Elsewhere the species occurs in the Indo-west Pacific: South Africa, East Africa, Persian Gulf, Socotra (Yemen) and Madagascar east to Caroline Islands and Fiji, north to Ryukyu Islands and Wakayama Prefecture (Japan), south to Australia. Inhabits shallow coastal areas, with adults occurring on coral reefs, while juveniles prefer inshore areas over sand, silt or coral rubble bottoms, and occasionally mangrove-lined streams and estuaries, often forming large schools. Individuals sometimes enter freshwater areas to feed on small fishes and invertebrates.
Features	Dorsal fin X, 13-14; Anal fin III, 7-9; Gill rakers, first arch 6-7 + 10-14 = 16-21. Body moderately deep, greatest depth 2.5-3.0 in SL; preorbital bone very narrow, about 1/2 eye diameter; preopercular notch and knob poorly developed; vomerine tooth patch triangular, with a short median posterior extension; tongue with a patch of granular teeth; preorbital space narrow, 9-10 times in HL; caudal fin truncate to slightly emarginate; scale rows on back run parallel to lateral line.
Size
Fisheries	Of minor commercial importance in parts of its range, and almost exclusively taken in subsistance and artisanal fisheries.
Etymology	The species is named in honour of Mr. Ehrenberg, who collected type specimens near Massawa, Red Sea.
Species Citation	Lutianus ehrenbergii Peters 1869, Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1869: 704. Type locality: Red Sea.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Ehrenberg's Snapper, Lutjanus ehrenbergii (Peters 1869)

References

Allen, G.R. 1985. FAO Species Catalogue. Snappers of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lutjanid species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Vol. 6. Rome : FAO 208 pp.

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. 2024. Reef fishes of the East Indies. 2nd ed. Volumes I-III. Perth Australia : Tropical Reef Research.

Allen, G.R. & Talbot, F.H. 1985. Review of the snappers of the genus Lutjanus (Pisces: Lutjanidae) from the Indo-Pacific, with the description of a new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 11: 1-87

Anderson, W.D. & Allen, G.R. 2001. Lutjanidae. pp. 2840-2918 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 5 2791-3379 pp.

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

Peters, W.C.H. 1869. Über neue oder weniger bekannte Fische des Berliner Zoologischen Museums. Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1869: 703-711. See ref at BHL

Russell, B., Smith-Vaniz, W.F., Lawrence, A., Carpenter, K.E., Myers, R. & Sparks, J.S. 2016. Lutjanus ehrenbergii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T194407A2332631. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T194407A2332631.en. Accessed on 26 March 2025.