''Lutjanus goldie''i, the Papuan black snapper, Papuan black bass, New Guinea bass or Niugini black bass , is a species of freshwater and brackish water

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

, a snapper in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Lutjanidae Lutjanidae, or snappers are a family of perciform fish, mainly marine, but with some members inhabiting estuaries, feeding in fresh water. The family includes about 113 species. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapp ...

. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Lutjanus goldiei'' was first formally described in 1882 as ''Mesoprion goldiei'' by the Scots born

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

naturalist William John Macleay with the type locality given as Hood Bay in Papua New Guinea. The specific name honours the Scots-born merchant, naturalist and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Andrew Goldie Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

(1840-1891) who provided Macleay with specimens and accompanying notes.

Description

''Lutjanus goldiei'' has a relatively deep body which has a standard length which is 2.2 to 2.8 times its depth. The forehead is steeply sloped and the incision and knob on the preoperculum are weak. The vomerine teeth are arranged in a crescent-shaped patch with no rearwards extension and there is a patch of grain-like teeth on the tongue. It has a large eye which has reddish yellow iris and a large black pupil. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 13-14 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays, the rear profile of both these fins is rounded. The

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s contain 16-17 rays and the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

truncate In mathematics and computer science, truncation is limiting the number of digits right of the decimal point. Truncation and floor function Truncation of positive real numbers can be done using the floor function. Given a number x \in \mathb ...

. This fish attains a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of , although is more typical, and the maximum published weight is . Papuan black snappers come in two

colour phase In biology, polymorphism is the occurrence of two or more clearly different morphs or forms, also referred to as alternative ''phenotypes'', in the population of a species. To be classified as such, morphs must occupy the same habitat at the s ...

s, on with the whole body being blackish in colour and the other which is marked with 6-7 wide greyish bars on the flanks. The juveniles are always barred.

Distribution and habitat

''Lutjanus goldiei'' was thought to be confined to southern New Guinea between

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

and the

Fly River The Fly River is the third longest river in the island of New Guinea, after the Sepik River and Mamberamo River, with a total length of and the largest by volume of discharge in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its cat ...

. However, it has now been found to occur in

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

on the Malaysian part of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

and possibly other islands between New Guinea and Borneo. This species has been found in both brackish and fresh waters, in southern New Guinea they have been recorded inhabiting streams and rivers which drain into the

Gulf of Papua The Gulf of Papua is located in the southern coast region of New Guinea. It has a total surface area of . Geography Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River flow ...

and in northern New Guinea they are known from the

Sepik The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the second largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun (formerly West Se ...

and

Ramu river The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea. Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...

system. In the Fly river, it has been found inland some from the sea, but normally it is found from the sea. It has also been recorded from brackish water estuarine environments.

Biology

''Lutjanus goldiei'' are opportunistic predators which have been recorded preying on

crabs Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

, snakes, fishes, small crocodiles and mammals. Little is known about these species but juvelines have been seen to reside further up the rivers and in shallower areas for protection. The juveniles are also found in mangroves. It is thought that the larvae may be marine but there are no records of this species in purely marine environments.

Fisheries

''Lutjanus goldiei'' is a popular sporting fish and an safari-angling economy has grown around its pursuit. Game fishers go to both New Guinea and Sabah to fish for this species. It occasionally appears in the fish market at Port Moresby. Apart from angling for this species it is also caught using

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

s, handlines, traps and gill nets. This species has not been evaluated by the IUCN. Anglers from across the globe have the Papuan Black Bass on their fishing bucket list and there are a few tour operators that target these species specifically.

Fishing Shows

''Lutjanus goldiei'' featured in "''Volcanic Island Terror''" episode 5 of season 9 of the TV series ''

River Monsters ''River Monsters'' is a British and United States, American wildlife Documentary film, documentary Television show, television programme produced for Animal Planet by Icon Films of Bristol, United Kingdom. It is hosted by extreme Angling, ang ...

'' hosted by

Jeremy Wade Jeremy John Wade (born 23 March 1956) is an English television presenter, an author of books on angling, a freshwater detective, and a biologist. He is known for his television series ''River Monsters'', ''Mighty Rivers'', and ''Dark Waters''. He ...

, first broadcast in the United States on 21 May 2017. It also featured in episode 3 of series 5 of Extreme Fishing with Robson Green.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2238930 goldiei Fish described in 1882