''Pristipomoides sieboldii'', the lavender jobfish, lavender snapper or von Siebold’s snapper, is a species of ray-finned fish, which is a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Pristipomoides multidens'' was first formally described in 1871 as ''Chaetopterus sieboldii'' by the Dutch

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

, herpetologist and physician Pieter Bleeker in with its type locality given as Nagasaki. Bleeker did not specify who he was honouring in the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

but it is thought likely to have been

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

physician and traveller, Philipp Franz von Siebold, who collected many fishes as specimens which were then described in the monograph series, ''

Fauna Japonica ''Fauna Japonica'' is a series of monographs on the zoology of Japan. It was the first book written in a European language ( French) on the Japanese fauna, and published serially in five volumes between 1833 and 1850. The full title is . Based ...

'', published by the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden between 1833 and 1850.

Description

''Pristipomoides sieboldii'' has an elongated, robust body which has a depth of roughly 30–40% of its

standard 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 m ...

. The space between the eyes is flat and it has a slightly protruding lower jaw. In both upper and lower jaws there is an outer row of conical and canine-like teeth and an inner band of bristle-like teeth. The vomerine teeth are arranged in a diamond-shaped patch and there are teeth on the tongue. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 11 soft rays while the

anal 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 se ...

contains 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The bases of both the dorsal and anal fins lack scales and the last soft ray of each of these fins is extended into a short filament. The pectoral fins are long extending as far as the anus and contain 16 rays. The caudal fin is forked. The overall colour is silvery with a lavender tint. The top of the head is marked with dark spots which are more noticeable in younger fish. The dorsal fin has an orange margin while the caudal fin is purplish with a pale margins on the fork. This species attains a maximum total length of , although is more typical, and a maximum published weight of .

Distribution, habitat and biology

''Pristipomoides sieboldii'' has a wide Indo-Pacific range. It occurs from the Red Sea and East Africa as far south as South Africa through the coasts and islands of the Indian Ocean into the Pacific Ocean where its range extends eastwards to Hawaii, north to Japan. This is a benthopelagic species found at depths between over rocky substrates. It is a predatory species which has a diet consisting largely of fishes, crustaceans, polychaetes,

cephalopods A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, an ...

and

urochordates A tunicate is a marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata (). It is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ...

. They attain sexual maturity at 3 years old and have a lifespan of not more than 8 years.

Fisheries

''Pristipomoides sieboldii'' is common as a food fish in Japan and is an important species to fisheries in Hawaii and in the Great Barrier Reef/Torres Strait fishery in Australia. In Hawaii it is managed as part of the Deep 7

bottomfish A bottom feeder is an aquatic animal that feeds on or near the bottom of a body of water. Biologists often use the terms ''benthos''—particularly for invertebrates such as shellfish, crabs, crayfish, sea anemones, starfish, snails, bristlew ...

hook and line fishery unit. It’s taken with bottom longlines and deep handlines. The catch is sold fresh.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2335058 sieboldii Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish of Thailand Fish described in 1855 Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker