''Lethrinus lentjan'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

is white has a reddish margin. Both the caudal 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 The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

, in Australia on the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

, and the northern half of Australia., in the lagoon around New Caledonia, along the east coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, 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

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

s and

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s such as snails. It also feeds on

echinoderm An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the s ...

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made ...

s, bivalves, 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 A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

of several species of

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

Monogenea Monogeneans are a group of ectoparasitic flatworms commonly found on the skin, gills, or fins of fish. They have a direct lifecycle and do not require an intermediate host. Adults are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female repro ...

ns parasitic on the

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

s include the diplectanid ''Calydiscoides difficilis'' and ''Calydiscoides duplicostatus'', and an ancyrocephalid. The gills also harbour unidentified gnathiid isopod larvae. The digestive tract harbours several species of digeneans, including the opecoelid ''Orthodena tropica'' and unidentified anisakid nematode larvae. In New Caledonia, where its parasites were studied, ''Lethrinus lentjan'' has a total of seven species of

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