Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Acanthuriformes (Order) > Lutjanidae (Family) > Lutjaninae (Subfamily) > Lutjanus (Genus)

Vivaneau hublot, Hublot, Communard, Spotted-scale sea perch, Russell's sea-perch, Russell's one-spot snapper, Russel's snapper, Russell's snapper, Moses' snapper, Moses seaperch, Moses perch, John's snapper, Fingermark bream, Russell se snapper, Russells snapper, Pargo russell, Pargo ojo de buey, Kurohoshi-fuedai, クロホシフエダイ, عَصموديّ روسال, 점퉁돔, 加规, 黑星笛鯛, Cá Hồng chấm đen,

Synonymes
Lutianus nishikawae (Smith & Pope, 1906)
Lutianus orientalis (Seale, 1910)
Lutianus russelli (Bleeker, 1849)
Lutjanus russelli (Bleeker, 1849)
Mesoprion russellii (Bleeker, 1849)

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Description
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8; Pectoral fins rays: 16-17; Lateral line scales: 47-50; Body depth: 2.6-2.8 in SL. Body moderately deep to somewhat slende. Dorsal profile of head steeply to moderately sloped; Preorbital width about equal to, or slightly less than eye diameter; Preopercular notch and knob poorly developed; Vomerine tooth patch triangular, with a medial posterior extension or diamond-shaped; Tongue with a patch of granular teeth. First gill arch with 13-18 gill rakers, of which 7-11 (including rudiments) on lower limb.  posterior profile of dorsal and anal fins rounded (anal fin sometimes angular). Caudal fin truncate or slightly emarginate. Scale rows on back rising obliquely above lateral line. Max. length: 50.0 cm TL, common length: 30.0 cm TL. Depth range: 3 - 80 m, usually 20 - 50 m.

Color
Back and upper side brownish; Lower sides and belly pink to whitish with a silvery sheen; A black spot, mainly above lateral line, below anterior rays of soft dorsal fin; Adults from the Indian Ocean usually with 7-8 narrow golden brown stripes on sides; Juveniles from the western Pacific whitish, with 4 black stripes on sides and with a round black spot on upper back.

Etymology
Lutjanus: from Malay, ikan lutjan, name of a fish.
russellii: in honor of surgeon-herpetologist Patrick Russell (1726-1805), who described and illustrated, but did not name, this snapper in 1803.
Original description: Mesoprion russellii Bleeker, 1849 - Type locality: Jakarta, Java, Indonesia.

Distribution
Western Pacific: Indonesia east to Philippines, Samoa and Tonga, north to southern Sea of Japan, south to Western Australia and Queensland (Australia) and New Caledonia.

Biology
Adults inhabit offshore coral reefs and also inshore rocky and coral reefs. Juveniles frequent mangrove estuaries and lower reaches of freshwater streams. They feed on benthic invertebrates and fish. Caught with handlines, traps, and bottom trawls. Marketed mostly fresh.

Similar species
Lutjanus indicus (Allen, White & Erdmann, 2013) - Reported from Red Sea, Indian Ocean: East Africa, Comoros, Madagascar, western Mascarenes and Persian Gulf east to Myanmar and Andaman Sea. It differs most notably from Lutjanus russellii in possessing a series of seven narrow, yellow-to-brown stripes on the side, obliquely rising (except lower two) dorsally and posteriorly.
Lutjanus johnii (Bloch, 1792) - Reported from New Caledonia. Scale rows on back parallel to lateral line. Center of each scale often with a reddish-brown spot, giving an overall appearance of series of horizontal lines on side of body. A large black blotch mainly above the lateral line below the anterior dorsal-fin rays.
Lutjanus monostigma (Cuvier, 1828) - Reported from New Caledonia - Link to the species (here).

Last update: 15, April 2022