About Lutjanus lemniscatus (Valenciennes, 1828)
The body of Lutjanus lemniscatus is moderately deep, with its standard length measuring 2.5 to 2.8 times the maximum depth of the body. It has a steeply sloped forehead, and the snout has a slightly concave profile. The knob and notch on the preoperculum are weakly developed. Vomerine teeth are arranged in a crescent shape, with no rearwards extension, and a patch of granular teeth is present on the tongue. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 13–14 soft rays, while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The rear portions of the dorsal and anal fins are rounded; the pectoral fins have 16 rays, and the caudal fin is truncate or weakly emarginate. This species reaches a maximum total length of 60 cm (24 in), with 35 cm (14 in) being a more typical length. Typical overall coloration can be greyish, pinkish-brown, olive-green, or silvery, with sooty brown to blackish dorsal and caudal fins that often have a thin white margin. Juveniles are light grey, with a wide black mid-lateral stripe positioned between two thin white stripes that run from the tip of the snout to the base of the caudal fin. Adult individuals living in deeper waters are often reddish in colour. Lutjanus lemniscatus has an Indo-West Pacific distribution, ranging from southern India and Sri Lanka east to Papua New Guinea. It has also been definitively recorded from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Reports of its presence in Pakistan and Mozambique require confirmation. In Australia, its range extends from Shark Bay in Western Australia to Cooktown in Queensland, and may reach as far south on the east coast as Noosa. This species occurs at depths between 0 and 110 m (0 to 361 ft). Adults are found offshore on reefs and in muddy habitats, and are typically located in very deep water. Juveniles are occasionally recorded near coral reefs, and are often found close to shore in areas with moderate silting and poor visibility.
