Lutjanus decussatus
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Lutjanidae (Snappers)
Lutjanus
Lutjanus decussatus
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. This species is distinguished by the following characters: body moderately deep, its depth 2.6-3.1 in SL; preopercular notch and knob poorly developed; vomerine tooth patch crescentic, without a medial posterior extension; tongue with a patch of granular teeth; gill rakers of first gill arch 6 + 8-10 = 14-16. Colour generally whitish, with a `checker-board' pattern on upper half of sides, with dark brown bars and stripes, surrounding rectangular, whitish 'windows'; horizontal brown stripes 5-6, 2 on lower half of sides; caudal fin base with large black spot. (Ref. 9821, 90102)
Description: Dorsal profile of head moderately sloped; preorbital bone usually about equal to eye diameter or slightly narrower; scale rows on back rising obliquely above lateral line (Ref. 9821). Striking features: none.
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: southern India and Sri Lanka to New Guinea, north to the Ryukyu Islands.
Habitat Associations
Marine. reef-associated. depth range 0-50 m. Found in: coral reefs.
Biology
Adults inhabit both inshore and offshore coral reefs where they occur singly or in schools. Small juveniles on shallow protected reef flats and are used in the aquarium trade.
Max length: 35.0 cm TL; common length: 25.0 cm SL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-02-04. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Allen, G.R. (1985) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 6. Snappers of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lutjanid species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(6):208 p. Rome: FAO.
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Allen, G.R. and J.H. Talbot (1985) Review of the snappers of the genus Lutjanus (Pisces Lutjanidae) from the Indo-Pacific with the description of a new species. Indo-Pac. Fish. (11):87.
Masuda, H. and G.R. Allen (1993) Meeresfische der Welt - Groß-Indopazifische Region. Tetra Verlag, Herrenteich, Melle. 528 p.
Anderson, W.D. Jr. and G.R. Allen (2001) Lutjanidae. Jobfishes. p. 2840-2918. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae). FAO, Rome.
Kuiter, R.H. and T. Tonozuka (2001) Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 1. Eels- Snappers, Muraenidae - Lutjanidae. Zoonetics, Australia. 1-302.
Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann (2012) Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth, Australia: Universitiy of Hawai'i Press, Volumes I-III. Tropical Reef Research.
Coleman, R., J.M. Copus, D.M. Coffey, R.K. Whitton and B.W. Bowen (2018) Shifting reef fish assemblages along a depth gradient in Pohnpei, Micronesia. PeerJ, 6: e4650. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4650
Comments On Lutjanus decussatus