- Classification
- ACTINOPTERYGII
- PERCIFORMES
- LUTJANIDAE
- Lutjanus
- bengalensis
Bengal Snapper, Lutjanus bengalensis (Bloch 1790)
A Bengal Snapper, Lutjanus bengalensis, at Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia, November 2012. Source: uwkwaj / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
Summary:
A bright yellow tropical snapper with a silvery white abdomen, and four dark-edged blue stripes along the side, the ventral-most stripe running below the eye from the upper jaw to the caudal peduncle.
Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2025, Lutjanus bengalensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Jun 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5764
Bengal Snapper, Lutjanus bengalensis (Bloch 1790)
More Info
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Distribution |
Elsewhere the species occurs in the Indo-West Pacific: India and Myanmar east to Indonesia and the Philippines, north to southern Hokkaido (Japan), south to Australia. Mostly inhabits coral and rocky reefs, sometimes forming small aggregations around rocky outcrops and coral heads during the day. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin XI, 13-14; Anal fin III, 8; Pectoral fin 16-17; Gill rakers, first arch 7-8 + 15-17 = 22-25; Lateral-line scales 47-50; Horizontal scale rows above the lateral line 8 or 9; Scale rows on cheek 8-11. Scale rows above lateral line rising obliquely toward dorsal profile; predorsal scales extending forward nearly to level of just above anterior edge of orbit; without subocular extension of cheek scales; tongue is smooth, toothless; preopercular notch well developed just above angle; interopercular knob inconspicuous. |
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Colour |
Back and sides yellowish; belly silvery whitish; sides with a series of 4 bright blue stripes along the side; no black spot on the back below middle of dorsal fin; fins yellow to whitish. |
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Feeding |
Feeds on fishes and crustaceans. |
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Biology |
Body fusiform, slender to moderately deep (greatest depth 2.5 to 2.9 times in standard length). Snout somewhat pointed; preorbital bone relatively narrow; its width usually less than eye diameter; preopercular notch and knob well developed; vomerine tooth patch crescentic, without a medial posterior extension; tongue smooth, without teeth; gill rakers on lower limb of first arch (including rudiments) 17 to 19, total gill. rakers on first arch 26 to 28. Dorsal fin with 10 spines and 12 to 14 soft rays; anal fin with 3 spines and 8 soft rays; posterior profile and anal fins moderately pointed; pectoral fins with 16 or 17 rays; caudal fin emarginate. Scale rows on back rising obliquely above lateral line. |
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Similar Species |
Differs from the similar Bluestriped Snapper, Lutjanus kasmira, in having a completely white belly, vs. a white belly with faint narrow greyish stripes in L. kasmira. |
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Etymology |
The species is named for the type locality: Bengalem (= Bengal). |
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Species Citation |
Holocentrus bengalensis Bloch 1790, Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische 4: 102, Pl. 246 (fig. 2). Type locality: Bengalen [Bengal, Bay of Bengal, eastern Indian Ocean] |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2025 |
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Resources |
Bengal Snapper, Lutjanus bengalensis (Bloch 1790)
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. See ref online
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
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.
Bloch, M.E. 1790. Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische. Berlin : J. Morino Vol. 4 128 pp. pls 217-252.
Bloch, M.E. 1785-1797. Ichthyology, or Natural History, General and Particular, of Fishes. With illuminated figures drawn from nature. In 12 parts. Berlin. See ref at BHL
Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 2022. Trawled fishes of southern Indonesia and northwestern Australia. 2nd ed. i-vii, 1-422, Pls. 1-3. See ref online
Iwatsuki, Y., Al-Mamry, J.M. & Heemstra, P.C. 2016. Validity of a blue stripe snapper, Lutjanus octolineatus (Cuvier 1828) and a related species, L. bengalensis (Bloch 1790) with a new species (Pisces; Lutjanidae) from the Arabian Sea. Zootaxa 4098(3): 511-528. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4098.3.5
Russell, B., Carpenter, K.E., Ambuali, A., Al Buwaiqi, B., Al Abdali, F.S.H., Al Kindi, A.S.M., Borsa, P. & Govender, A. 2019. Lutjanus bengalensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T194358A2320546. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T194358A2320546.en. Accessed on 28 April 2025.
