Lutjanus decussatus

The checkered snapper, also called the checkered seaperch or cross-hatched snapper, is a marine ray-finned fish in the family Lutjanidae. Its body displays a distinctive pattern: five horizontal red bands cross seven vertical brown bands, creating a checkered effect. This species lives in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans.

French zoologist Georges Cuvier first described it in 1828 as Mesoprion decussatus, based on a specimen from Java, Indonesia. The name decussatus means "divided crosswise in the form of an X," referring to the checkered pattern.

Description

The fish has a moderately deep body, with depth measuring between one-quarter and one-third of its standard length, and a moderately sloped upper head profile. The preoperculum features a weak knob and notch. Vomerine teeth form a crescent-shaped patch without a rearward extension, and the tongue has a patch of grain-like teeth.

The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 13–14 soft rays; the anal fin has 3 spines and 8–9 soft rays. Both the rear dorsal and anal fins are rounded. Maximum recorded total length is 35 cm (14 in), though 25 cm (9.8 in) is more typical.

Coloration ranges from whitish to pale greyish brown, with reddish-brown stripes and bars creating the checkered pattern on the upper flanks. A large black spot sits at the base of the caudal fin. The fins are pale, and the caudal fin has a red submarginal stripe.

Distribution and habitat

This species occurs in the Indo-West Pacific, from Sri Lanka and eastern India east to Micronesia, north to the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan, and south to Australia. In Australia, it is found at the Dampier Archipelago, offshore reefs of northern Western Australia, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef off Queensland. It inhabits shallow water from 2 to 30 m (6 ft 7 in to 98 ft 5 in) on coastal reef faces and sandy slopes with scattered reef patches, and less commonly on offshore reefs. Juveniles live on sheltered reef flats.

Biology

Adults may be solitary or form small schools. They feed on fishes and crustaceans. Off Okinawa, spawning occurs in June and October, timed by lunar cycles.

Fisheries

Subsistence fisheries catch this snapper with handlines, traps, and gill nets. It is not a major commercial species, though it is taken commercially in parts of its range, such as the Ryukyu Islands. Small numbers occasionally appear in the aquarium trade.