''Lethrinus lentjan'' is a species of emperor fish. It has a distinctive blood-red colouration around the margin of the gill covers. It is widespread around the Indo-West Pacific, and is reef-associated. This species is fished commercially and for sport.

Common names

''Lethrinus lentjan'' has numerous common names, including: *pig-face bream *pink ear emperor *pink-eared emperor *purple-eared emperor *purple-headed emperor *red spot emperor *redspot emperor

Description

This is a large species, growing to approximately 50 cm in length. however specimens in the intertidal zone may be around 15 cm. The body is olive-green, becoming paler toward the belly. The scales are large and in a diamond pattern. There is a blood-red colouration around the margin of gill covers, and often at the base of the pectoral fins as well. The dorsal fin is white has a reddish margin. Both the

caudal Caudal may refer to: Anatomy * Caudal (anatomical term) (from Latin ''cauda''; tail), used to describe how close something is to the trailing end of an organism * Caudal artery, the portion of the dorsal aorta of a vertebrate that passes into the ...

and dorsal fins have orange mottling. The pectoral fin may be pale orange, whitish or yellowish. It has thick, fleshy lips, and a somewhat protractiile snout.

Distribution

''Lethrinus lentjan'' is widespread in the Indo-West Pacific and other waters. It is known to live in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, in Australia on the Great Barrier Reef, and the northern half of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

., in the lagoon around

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, along the east coast of Africa, and in the waters of Taiwan.

Habitat

This species lives mainly in coastal areas. It occurs in coral reefs and also inhabits areas with sandy bottoms and grassy seabeds, in mangrove swamps, and deep lagoons. Juveniles are more commonly associated with shallow areas, often in loose aggregations with adult specimens. Adults are usually solitary and may be found in waters up to 84 metres in depth.

Diet

''Lethrinus lentjan'' is a carnivore and eats mostly crustaceans and mollusks such as snails. It also feeds on echinoderms, polychaetes,

bivalves Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

, worms, and various fishes.

Human uses

This species is commercially and recreationally fished for human consumption.

Parasites

As with most fish, ''Lethrinus lentjan'' is the host of several species of parasites. Monogeneans parasitic on the gills include the diplectanid ''Calydiscoides difficilis'' and ''Calydiscoides duplicostatus'', and an ancyrocephalid. The gills also harbour unidentified gnathiid

isopod Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

larvae. The digestive tract harbours several species of

digenea Digenea (Gr. ''Dis'' – double, ''Genos'' – race) is a class of trematodes in the Platyhelminthes phylum, consisting of parasitic flatworms (known as ''flukes'') with a syncytial tegument and, usually, two suckers, one ventral and one oral. ...

ns, including the opecoelid ''Orthodena tropica'' and unidentified

anisakid ''Anisakis'' (a·nuh·saa·keez) is a genus of parasitic nematodes that have life cycles involving fish and marine mammals. They are infective to humans and cause anisakiasis. People who produce immunoglobulin E in response to this parasite may ...

nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...

larvae. In

, where its parasites were studied, ''Lethrinus lentjan'' has a total of seven species of parasites.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2473984 Lethrinidae Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish described in 1802 Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède