About Lutjanus quinquelineatus (Bloch, 1790)
Lutjanus quinquelineatus has a moderately deep body, where its standard length is 2.3 to 2.9 times its body depth. It has a steeply sloped forehead, and a distinct, well-developed preopercular incision and knob. Its vomerine teeth form a crescent-shaped patch with no rearward extension, and there are no teeth on its smooth tongue. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 13 to 15 soft rays, while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 to 9 soft rays. The rear profiles of both the dorsal and anal fins range from rounded to somewhat angular. The pectoral fins hold 16 or 17 rays, and the caudal fin is either truncate or weakly emarginate. This species reaches a maximum total length of 38 cm (15 in), though 30 cm (12 in) is more common. The upper portion of its head is brownish, and the snapper's overall body color is yellow, marked with 5 bright blue horizontal stripes along its flanks. A black blotch or spot is typically present on the upper posterior part of its body. This species has an Indo-Pacific distribution. In the Indian Ocean, it occurs in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Sri Lanka, and southern India. In the Pacific Ocean, it ranges from the Andaman Sea east to Fiji, Tonga, Tahiti, and the Caroline Islands, north to Japan, and south to Australia. In Australian waters, it is distributed from the central coast of Western Australia along the tropical northern coast, and south along the eastern coast as far as central New South Wales. The five-lined snapper inhabits protected lagoons and exposed outer coral reef slopes, at depths between 2 and 40 meters (6 feet 7 inches to 131 feet 3 inches). Juveniles of this species are found in sheltered bays with rubble and algae substrates.
