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Red Bass
Lutjanus bohar (Forsskål, 1775)
Above and below: A Red Bass at a depth of 2 m, photographed through a glass window at ‘Marine World’ off Cairns, Queensland, March 2005. Photo © John A. Long ARPS. View larger image.
A Red Bass at a depth of 18 m, Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, December 1999. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
Red Bass at a depth of 20 m, 'Desperation', outer barrier reef near Namotou Island, Mamanuca Islands, Fiji, April 2003. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
The Red Bass is red with brownish to black shading along the back and usually on the uppermost rays of the pectoral fin. It has deep grooves that run from the eyes to the nostrils.
The species grows to 75 cm in length but is more commonly seen at lengths up to 50 cm. Research of Marriott and Mapstone (2006) showed that the species is long lived. Up to 56 annual rings were found in otoliths of Red Bass from the Great Barrier Reef, indicating that the species can live at least 56 years.
The Red Bass feeds mainly on fishes but will also consume other prey such as crustaceans.
It occurs widely in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the central to north-western coast and islands of Western Australia and the northern Great Barrier Reef to southern Queensland.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Red Bass is an important commercial fish in many areas. In the western Pacific (including Australia), large individuals can potentially cause ciguatera poisoning. View the eMedicine page on ciguatera fish poisoning.
Related links
- Blacktail Snapper fact sheet
- Humpback Snapper fact sheet
- Mangrove Jack fact sheet
- Moses Perch fact sheet
- View the Coral Snappers list
- View the family Lutjanidae list
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1985. Snappers of the World. An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Lutjanid Species known to Date. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 6. FAO. Rome. Pp. 208, Pl. I-XXVII.
- Isbister, G.K. & M.C. Kiernan. 2005. Neurotoxic marine poisoning. The Lancet Neurology. 4(4): 219 - 228.
- Marriott, R.J. & B.D. Mapstone. 2006. Geographic influences on and the accuracy and precision of age estimates for the red bass, Lutjanus bohar (Forsskal 1775): A large tropical reef fish. Fisheries Research. 80 (2-3):322-328.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Edition 2. Crawford House Publishing. Pp. 557.
