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Longfin Emperor
Lethrinus erythropterus Valenciennes, 1830
A Longfin Emperor caught at a depth around 40 m to 50 m, Maskelyne Islands, Vanuatu, June 2006. Photo © J. Fooks. View larger image. Thank you to K. Carpenter for identifying this fish.
A Longfin Emperor caught on hook and line at a depth of 50 m, Euston Reef, off Cairns, Queensland, December 2006. Photo © D. Moore. View larger image.
The Longfin Emperor is brown to reddish, often lighter ventrally. The fins are usually bright red. Two pale bars are sometimes present on the caudal peduncle. The lips and base of the pectoral fins are red. The fish in the image to the right is unusually spotted.
The species grows to about 50 cm in length.
It occurs mostly on coral reefs and adjacent sandy areas of the Indo-west and Central Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the offshore reefs of north-western Western Australia and the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Related links
- Sweetlip Emperor fact sheet
- Yellow Striped Emperor fact sheet
- View the Emperors list
- View the family Lethrinidae list
Further Reading
- Carpenter, K.E. & G.R. Allen, 1989. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 9. Emperor fishes and large-eye breams of the world (family Lethrinidae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lethrinid species known to date. FAO Species Synopsis. No. 125(9): Pp. 118.
- Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & P.J. Kailola. 1984. Trawled Fishes of southern Indonesia and northwestern Australia. Jakarta: Directorate General of Fisheries ( Indonesia), German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Australian Development Assistance Bureau. Pp. 406. (as L. hypselopterus ).
