Lutjanus fulviflamma
A wide-ranging Indo-Pacific snapper with a distinctive black lateral spot.
Last updated
Lutjanus fulviflamma, known commonly as the dory snapper, blackspot snapper, or Moses perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lutjanidae, the snappers. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution and is notable for its distinctive black spot on the lateral line and narrow yellow horizontal stripes.
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassActinopterygii
- DivisionTeleostei
- OrderAcanthuriformes
- FamilyLutjanidae
- GenusLutjanus
- SpeciesLutjanus fulviflamma
Named by (Forsskål, 1775)
Close relatives
Other species of Lutjanus with a Codexery entry.
- Lutjanus lutjanus Lutjanus lutjanus
- African brown snapper Lutjanus dentatus
- Blackfin snapper Lutjanus buccanella
- Blue and gold snapper Lutjanus viridis
- Bluestriped snapper Lutjanus notatus
- Brazilian snapper Lutjanus alexandrei
- Common bluestripe snapper Lutjanus kasmira
- Cubera snapper Lutjanus cyanopterus
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Lutjanus fulviflamma (CC BY-SA 4.0) · differs from this box at order: WoRMS AphiaID 218490 (CC BY 4.0)
Conservation status
Least Concern (LC)
- LC▲ this species
- NT
- VU
- EN
- CR
- EW
- EX
Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.35 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Lutjanus fulviflamma
Where the lutjanus fulviflamma has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (5,122 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 57 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 3 isolated far-off records not drawn.
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Background
Lutjanus fulviflamma was first formally described in 1775 as Sciaena fulviflamma by the Swedish-speaking Finnish-born explorer and naturalist Peter Forsskål, with the type locality given as the Red Sea. The specific name fulviflamma is a compound of fulvus, meaning 'brownish yellow' or often just 'yellow', and flamma, meaning 'fire', possibly referring to the vivid yellow upper body and tail visible on some individuals.
The body varies from moderately deep to relatively slender, with a standard length 2.5 to 2.9 times its depth. The preoperculum has a poorly developed incision and knob. Vomerine teeth may be arranged in a triangular patch with a posterior extension or in a rhombus, and there is a patch of grain-like teeth on the tongue.
The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 12-14 soft rays, the anal fin 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The caudal fin can be truncate or slightly emarginate. The pale body is marked with 5-7 narrow yellow horizontal stripes of equal width, the longest extending through the eye onto the snout, and a quadrilateral black spot on the lateral line three-quarters of the distance between the head and the caudal fin.
Ranked in
More in Snappers
Elsewhere in Snappers and Grunts
Test yourself
Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.
Answers checked against the source article
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lutjanus fulviflamma (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Classification: the source article's taxobox; compare WoRMS, the World Register of Marine Species (CC BY 4.0).
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List assessment.
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced