Blacktail snapper (Lutjanus fulvus)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Eupercaria incertae sedis · Family: Lutjanidae · Genus: Lutjanus.

Accepted name: Lutjanus fulvus · Authority: (Forster, 1801) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 218475.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Diacope analis Valenciennes, 1830; Diacope aurantiaca Valenciennes, 1830; Diacope flavipes Valenciennes, 1830; Diacope immaculata Cuvier, 1828; Diacope marginata Cuvier, 1828; Diacope vaigiensis Quoy & Gaimard, 1824; Diacope xanthopus Cuvier, 1829; Genyoroge nigricauda De Vis, 1884; Holocentrus fulvus Forster, 1801; Lutianus fulvus (Forster, 1801); Lutianus marginatoides Kendall & Goldsborough, 1911; Lutianus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824); Lutjanus marginatus (Cuvier, 1828); Lutjanus vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824); Mesoprion argenteus Hombron & Jacquinot, 1853; Mesoprion gaimardi Bleeker, 1859; Mesoprion kagoshimana Döderlein, 1883; Mesoprion marginipinnis Macleay, 1883; Mesoprion maus Montrouzier, 1857; Serranus limbatus Valenciennes, 1828.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218475 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Lutjanus fulvus. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 40 cm · Common length: 25 cm · Depth range: 1–80 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: fusiform / normal · Vulnerability index: 29.2 of 100 · Fishery importance: commercial · Aquarium trade: commercial.

FishBase notes: Adults inhabit lagoon and semi-protected seaward reefs (Ref. 9710). They prefer sheltered areas with deep holes or large boulders (Ref. 37816). Benthopelagic (Ref. 58302). Solitary or in loose aggregations (Ref. 90102). Juveniles sometimes found in shallow mangrove swamps and the lower parts of freshwater streams. Adults feed at night on fishes, shrimps, crabs, holothurians and cephalopods (Ref. 30573). Commonly seen in markets, usually fresh. Caught with handlines, traps, and gill nets. This fish sometimes causes ciguatera poisoning, particularly in the Pacific portion of its range (Ref. 9821). Maximum depth reported taken from Ref. 9773.

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 262) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Lutjanus-fulvus.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

7,119 georeferenced occurrence records for Lutjanus fulvus are published through GBIF from 52 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 322 distinct locations from a sample of 3,000 records, omitting 52 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: United States of America (1,412); French Polynesia (696); Australia (456); Micronesia (Federated States of) (375); Solomon Islands (359).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2385096) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2385096&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218475 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Lutjanus fulvus (Forster, 1801) as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 194377) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/194377/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2385096) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2385096/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Lutjanus fulvus was first formally described in 1801 as Holocentrus fulvus by the German speaking Polish born naturalist Johan Reinhold Forster with the type locality given as Ota-haitee, which is Tahiti. Forster's description was published in Systema Ichthyologiae by Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Schneider, and the description is sometimes attributed to either Bloch & Scheider or to Schneider. The specific name, fulvus which means "brownish yellow", a reference to the overall tan or brownish to pale yellow-white colour of the body.

Lutjanus filvus has a body which has a standard length that is around four times its depth. It has a steeply sloped forehead and a well developed known and notch in the preoperculum. The vomerine teeth are arranged in a crescent shaped patch with no rearwards extension and the tongue is smooth, lacking any teeth. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 14 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays, the rear profile of both these fins is rounded. The pectoral fins contain 16 rays and the caudal fin is slightly emarginate. This fish attains a maximum total length of 40 cm, although 25 cm is more typical. This species has an overall colour which ranges from orange-brown or brownish to pale yellowish or whitish. The dark reddish to blackish dorsal and caudal fins have a white margin, the anal fin, pectoral and pelvic fins are yellow. The scales have brownish to yellow margins, and there is a yellow patch over the eye. The juveniles are marked with yellowish horizontal stripes and have a black band just underneath the margin of the dorsal fin.

Lutjanus fulvus has a wide Indo Pacific distribution. It is found from the Gulf of Aden and East Africa south to South Africa through the Indian Ocean but it is absent from the Persian Gulf, east as far as the Marquesas and the Line Islands. It occurs north to southern Japan and south to Australia. In Australia it is found from the Scott Reef of Western Australia, and the Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea to Sydney, they also occur at Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, as well as Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. During the 1950s the Hawaiian Division of Fish and Game released blacktail snappers into Pearl Harbor and off Oahu and it is now found throughout the Hawaiian archipelago but it is nowhere abundant. They have a depth range of 2 to 75 m and can be found in lagoons and semi-sheltered seaward reefs. This species was one of the first to re-colonise an area of reef which had been recently dredged off Pohnpei. It shows a preference for sheltered areas where there are deep holes or large boulders. The juveniles are occasionally recorded in shallow mangrove swamps and in the lower reaches of freshwater streams.

Lutjanus fulvus is a nocturnal predator of fishes, crustaceans, holothurians and cephalopods. A study in the Yaeyama Islands of Japan found that the oldest individual was 34 years old and most of the population were older than 3 years old. The mean length at sexual maturity was 22.5 cm, around 4 years old for females and 20.7 cm, around 3 years old, for males. They were thought to spawn there between April and October.

Lutjanus fulvus is commonly recorded in markets, normally as fresh fish. Fishers catch it using handlines, traps and gillnets. Consumption of this species has been known to cause ciguatera poisoning, especially in the Pacific. The blacktail snapper is among the most important fishes which are taken by gill netting and handlining in Kiribati and it is regarded as a commercial species in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. The introduction of this species to Hawaii was intended to supplement the commercially exploited reef fish there.

Source: Wikipedia: Lutjanus fulvus — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutjanus_fulvus (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.