Picture courtesy of: Alain Daoulas

Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Acanthuriformes (Order) > Lethrinidae (Family) > Lethrininae (Subfamily) > Lethrinus (Genus)

Tachigamifuki, タチガミフエフキ,

Description
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8; Pectoral fin rays: 13-14 (usually: 13); Lateral line scales: 46-49 (usually: 48); Upper gill rakers: 4-7 (usually: 5); Lower gill rakers (Total): 12-16; Scale rows above lateral line: 5-6 (usually: 6); Scale rows below lateral line: 16-17 (usually: 16); Body depth: 30.1-33.0 in % SL; Body length: 3.0-3.4 times the body height. Body long, oval in the anterior-posterior direction, slightly lateralized. Both lips thick. Main maxilla subcutaneously embedded. Body covered with hard-to-remove comb scales. Dorsal, anal, ventral and basal medial surfaces of pectoral fins without scales. Pectoral fins covered with small scales on the outer side of the basal portion. Lateral line complete, running parallel to the dorsal margin of the body from the top of the gill covers to the caudal peduncle. Max. length: 78.0 cm SL. Depth range: 1 - 185 m.

Color

• In small specimens (<300 mm long), body and head grayish white with olive or brown patches, with a blackish brown patch the same size as the eye just below the lateral line above the middle of the pectoral fins (larger than about 250 mm long) (indistinct in larger individuals). Mouth usually white to pale olive or brown sometime the posterior part of the mouth is pale reddish. Three white oblique bands extending from the periocular to the lip, the upper two equal in width to each other and extending from the anterior margin of the eye, the lowermost one thickest and extending from the posterior portion of the eye (thicker and more prominent than in medium-sized specimens). 
• Individuals larger than about 240 mm in length usually have a small irregularly shaped pale red area on the lower margin of the eye and above the main gill covers (the latter is rarely significantly indistinct). Ground color of dorsal, anal, and caudal fins whitish green with somewhat indistinct brownish-red stripes (oblique on dorsal and anal fins, vertical on caudal fin), forming a ground color (whitish green) guttation on the dorsal fin soft stripes. Dorsal fin margins bordered by brownish-red. Pectoral fins uniformly pale yellow except for a central white area. Ventral fins white-green with a slight reddish tinge at the tip.
• In medium-sized individuals (300 mm or longer and less than 500 mm long), the ground color of the body and head is olive or brown, while that of smaller individuals is brown. The mottled color pattern on the body becomes indistinct, and the dark brown spots on the body become indistinct. Mouth usually white to pale olive or brown with a faint reddish tinge posteriorly (rarely obscure). The three white oblique bands extending from the eyes to the lips, which are prominent in small specimens, usually become narrower and more discontinuous in larger specimens. From around 400 mm in length, the band is significantly obscured by a single dark olive to brownish band with a reddish hue. In addition, the anterior portion of the dorsal surface of the rostrum is usually reddish in individuals up to 440 mm long. The small irregularly shaped red areas on the subocular margin and above the main gill covers are more distinct than in smaller specimens (the latter are rarely significantly obscured). In addition, an irregularly shaped red area appears around the upper foregill cover, especially in larger specimens. The coloration of each fin does not change significantly from small individuals, but the proportion of individuals with red pectoral-fin bases increases as they grow older.
• In large individuals (500 mm or more in length), the body and head are uniformly dark olive to blackish brown. The lips are dark olive, and the area around the mouth is usually strongly reddish, especially in the posterior part of the mouth. The white oblique band extending from the eye to the lip, which was present in small to medium-sized specimens, is completely absent, and a rather thick red oblique band (about as thick as the pupil diameter) is present there. The anterior portion of the dorsal surface of the rostrum is reddish, and there is a red band about as thick as the pupil and eye diameter in the front and center of the interval between the two eyes, respectively (depending on the presence or absence of photographs of the dorsal surface of the rostrum, this band was observed in individuals over 570.5 mm long, but like the band on the lateral surface of the rostrum, it is likely to be more prominent from about 500 mm long and above). The reddish areas on the lower margin of the eye and gill rakers, which were seen in small to medium-sized specimens, are more pronounced, especially on the gill rakers, where multiple reddish areas (irregularly shaped spots) appear not only above but also around the center of the gill rakers. Scattered small red or orange spots on the buccal area. All fins, except the pectoral fins, are uniformly dark olive to brownish brown, obscuring the striped color pattern seen on the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins of small to medium-sized individuals. Soft striae of dorsal and anal fins usually reddish. Pectoral fins usually with greenish yellow upper and lower margins and reddish posterior margin. Pectoral-fin base reddish, rarely the same color as body color.

Etymology
Lethrinus: from Greek, lethrinia, a fish pertaining to genus Pagellus (Pagellus erythrinus (Linnaeus, 1758)), a Mediterranean fish looking like Lethrinidae family.
longirostris: from Latin, longus = long + from Latin, rostrum = snout. It is an accurate description for this long-nosed species.
Original description: longirostris Playfair, 1867 - Type locality: Zanzibar, Tanzania, western Indian Ocean.

Distribution
Red Sea; Indo-West Pacific: East Africa east to Marshall Islands and Tuamotu Archipelago (French Polynesia), north to southern Kyushu (southern Japan), south to New Caledonia.

Biology
Found in sandy coastal areas, lagoons, and reef slopes. Juveniles are found in shallow sandy areas. Often occurs in large schools. Adults deep along coastal slopes and drop-offs, usually solitary.  Very active and swims fast. Feeds mainly on fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods. Large individuals often ciguatoxic. Caught mostly with handline and traps, occasionally by trawls and gill nets.

Similar species

• Lethrinus amboinensis (Bleeker, 1854) - Reported from Eastern Indian Ocean, western Pacific: Indonesia east to Marshall Islands and Samoa, north to Japan, south to Kimberley (Western Australia).
• Lethrinus microdon (Valenciennes, 1830) - Reported from Red Sea; Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mascarenes and Persian Gulf east to Palau and New Ireland (Papua New Guinea), north to Kyushu (southern Japan), south to Western Australia.
• Lethrinus miniatus (Forster, 1801) - Reporded from Indo-West Pacific.
• Lethrinus olivaceus (Valenciennes, 1830) - Reported from Red Sea; Indo-West Pacific: East Africa, Persian Gulf and Madagascar east to Marshall and northern Line Islands and Henderson Island (Pitcairn Group), north to Ryukyu Islands (southern Japan), south to Western Australia and Queensland (Australia).

Last update: 8, April 2022