''Lethrinus rubrioperculatus'', common names the spotcheek emperor, red-eared emperor, red-ears, red-edged emperor, scarlet-cheek emperor, and spot cheek emperor, 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.

Description

This species grows to and is brown or olive-grey in colour. It has small, scattered blotches that are irregular in chape. The Body depth 2.94 to 3.18 times in standard length. Body color is olive-gray or brown, with scattered irregular small black blotches. There is normally a red spot present on the top edge of the operculum. The lips are normally red. The fins are pinkish or pale in colour.

Distribution

''Lethrinus rubrioperculatus'' is found in numerous locations, including

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

n waters, southern Japan and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

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 ...

Habitat

This species lives over sandy bottoms, in areas where rubble is present, and along the slopes of outer reefs. Although reef-associated, ''Lethrinus rubrioperculatus'' also occurs at depths of up to 160 metres, much deeper than most other species in this genus. This species is non-migratory.

Diet

''Lethrinus rubrioperculatus'' 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 ...

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 ...

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 sea ...

s, and other fishes.

Human uses

This fish is caught commercially.

Parasites

As most fish, ''Lethrinus rubrioperculatus'' 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 many 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 ...

s.Justine, J.-L., Beveridge, I., Boxshall, G. A., Bray, R. A., Moravec, F. & Whittington, I. D. 2010: An annotated list of fish parasites (Copepoda, Monogenea, Digenea, Cestoda and Nematoda) collected from Emperors and Emperor Bream (Lethrinidae) in New Caledonia further highlights parasite biodiversity estimates on coral reef fish. Zootaxa, 2691, 1-40
Open-Access PDF
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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 reprod ...

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 euzeti ''Calydiscoides euzeti'' is a species of monogenean of the family Diplectanidae. As all members of the family Diplectanidae, it has a single posterior testis and a single ovary that wraps the lateral caecum of the intestine. As all members of ...

'',Justine, J.-L. 2007: Species of ''Calydiscoides'' Young, 1969 (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) from lethrinid fishes, with the redescription of all of the type-specimens and the description of ''C. euzeti'' n. sp. from ''Lethrinus rubrioperculatus'' and ''L. xanthochilus'' off New Caledonia. Systematic Parasitology, 67, 187-209. the ancyrocephalids '' Lethrinitrema gibbus'' and '' Lethrinitrema dossenus'' and several capsalids. Copepods parasitic on the gills include the caligid ''Caligus lethrinicola'' and the lernanthropid ''Sagum vespertilio''. 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 an unidentified

Acanthocephala Acanthocephala (Greek , ', thorn + , ', head) is a phylum of parasitic worms known as acanthocephalans, thorny-headed worms, or spiny-headed worms, characterized by the presence of an eversible proboscis, armed with spines, which it uses to p ...

, unidentified tetraphyllid cestodes, species of the

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 ...

''Raphidascaris (Ichthyascaris)'', and a variety 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 acanthocolpid ''Stephanostomum aaravi'',Bray, R. A. & Justine, J.-L. 2011: Acanthocolpidae (Digenea) of marine fishes off New Caledonia, with the descriptions of two new species. Folia Parasitologica, 58, 35-47. the hemiurid ''Lecithochirium'' sp. and ''Tubulovesicula angusticauda'', the opecoelid ''Pseudoplagioporus interruptus'' and three other opecoelids. The abdominal cavity contains two species of larval tetrarhynch

cestode Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, known as tapeworms. Their bodies consist of man ...

s, the otobothriid ''Otobothrium parvum'' and the tentaculariid ''Nybelinia goreensis''. In

, where its parasites were particularly studied, ''Lethrinus rubrioperculatus'' has a total of twenty species of

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2166232 Lethrinidae Fish described in 1978