Lutjanus carponotatus

Lore & Background

Lutjanus carponotatus was first formally described in 1842 as Mesoprion carponotatus by Scottish naval surgeon Sir John Richardson, with the type locality given as Port Essington in the Northern Territory of Australia. The specific name is a compound of karpos meaning 'wrist' and notatus meaning 'marked', referring to the blackish spot at the base of the highest rays and upper axil of the pectoral fins. The species has a moderately deep body, a pointed snout, and weakly developed preopercular knob and incision. Its dorsal fin has 10 spines and 14-16 soft rays, the anal fin has 3 spines and 9 soft rays, and the caudal fin is emarginate. Adults are bluish-grey to whitish with 8-9 yellow to golden-brown horizontal stripes, yellow fins, and a blackish spot on the pectoral fin axil. Juveniles have a wide white longitudinal stripe bordered by dark brown to black stripes.

Reader's Guide

Lutjanus carponotatus is an important species for artisanal, recreational, and commercial fisheries throughout its range. It is caught mostly with handlines, rod and reel, traps, and gill nets, and is targeted by recreational fishers in Western Australia. In Australia, the catch of this species makes up less than 10% of the fish landed by the commercial line fishery on the Great Barrier Reef. In the Philippines and Indonesia it is a commercially targeted species, though landing statistics are unavailable. The fish is normally sold fresh at market. Adults are sedentary, remaining within a small home range, and are active predators using ambush tactics to catch smaller fishes and crustaceans, occasionally consuming juvenile sea turtles. Females reach sexual maturity at 2 years and can lay over 700,000 eggs at a time, with egg number and size increasing with female size. The species has a pelagic larval stage lasting 3–4 weeks before settlement.

Did You Know?

• The specific name carponotatus means 'wrist-marked', referring to the blackish spot on the pectoral fin.
• Females can lay over 700,000 eggs at a time, with larger females producing more and larger eggs.
• The species is rarely recorded below 15 m (49 ft) depth.