Red Emperor, Lutjanus sebae (Cuvier 1816)

Other Names: Emperor Red Snapper, Emperor Snapper, Government Bream, King Snapper, Queenfish, Red Kelp

Summary:

A striking tropical snapper with a reddish to pink body and red fins. Juveniles and young adults have a dark red band from the snout tip through the eye to the first dorsal-fin spine, a broad band from the middle of the dorsal-fin spines to the pelvic fin, and a diagonal band from the end of the last dorsal spine to the lower lobe of the caudal fin.

Video of juvenile Red Emperors feeding in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia.
Video of juvenile Red Emperor (Lutjanus sebae), Long Spine Emperor (Lethrinus genivittatus), and Paradise Threadfin Bream (Pentapodus paradiseus) at a baited remote underwater video camera (BRUV).

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2020, Lutjanus sebae in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/567

Red Emperor, Lutjanus sebae (Cuvier 1816)

More Info

Distribution	Bunbury, Western Australia, around the tropical north to Sydney, New South Wales. Elsewhere, the species is widespread in the Indo-west Pacific. Adults often inhabit sandy and rubble areas near coral and rocky reefs; also in deeper waters to 180 m. Juveniles inhabit mangrove areas, and coastal and deeper reefs. Small juveniles often shelter amongst sea urchin spines.
Features	Juveniles less than 20 cm long are common in mangrove areas (Allen 1985) in near shore, turbid waters, or among both coastal and deeper water offshore reefs (Williams and Russ 1992). They move to deeper waters as they grow larger
Feeding	Feeds on fishes, crustaceans such as crabs, stomatopods and shrimps, and cephalopod molluscs.
Fisheries	Although commercially important in many parts of its range, large individuals are known to cause ciguatera poisoning in parts of the Indian Ocean. Small juveniles are popular in the aquarium industry.
Remarks	Juveniles often shelter amongst sea urchin spines until large enough to venture out to feed out in the open.
Species Citation	Diacope sebae Cuvier, 1816, Règne Animal: 2: 275. No type locality stated [Indonesia; Coromandel coast, India, eastern Indian Ocean].
Author	Bray, D.J. 2020
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Red Emperor, Lutjanus sebae (Cuvier 1816)

References

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