Lutjanus lutjanus

Background

The bigeye snapper was first formally described in 1790 by German physician and zoologist Marcus Elieser Bloch, with a type locality given as Japan, though this is thought to be erroneous and actually Indonesia. Bloch named the genus Lutjanus when describing this species, and it became the type species by tautonymy. The name lutjanus derives from the local Indonesian name for snappers, ikhan Lutjang.

The species has a fusiform, slender body with a standard length 2.9 to 3.3 times the body's deepest points. It has a gently sloped forehead, weakly developed preopercular incision and knob, and vomerine teeth arranged in a triangular patch with a central rearward extension. The tongue has a patch of grain-like teeth.

The dorsal fin has 10-12 spines and 12 soft rays, the anal fin 3 spines and 8 soft rays, and the pectoral fins 16-17 rays. The caudal fin is truncate or weakly emarginate. The upper back is golden-brown with silvery-white flanks, a brown to yellow stripe from snout to caudal peduncle, oblique golden lines above the lateral line, and horizontal stripes below. The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are vivid yellow.

It is found in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean, from the Red Sea and eastern Africa to Japan and Australia, at depths of 1 to 96 m over coral reefs and inshore soft substrates. It is often observed in large aggregations with congeners and preys on fishes and crustaceans. Spawning has been reported in the Gulf of Aden in March, off eastern Africa in November, and in the Gulf of Suez between January and June.