Animal Species:Bigeye Snapper, Lutjanus lutjanus Bloch, 1790

The Bigeye Snapper is a schooling species living around coral reefs and inshore areas in tropical marine waters of the Indo-West Pacific.

A Bigeye Snapper at Agincourt Reef

A Bigeye Snapper at Agincourt Reef
Erik Schlögl © Erik Schlögl

Alternative Name/s

The Bigeye Snapper has also been called the Bigeye Seaperch.

Identification

The Bigeye Snapper is a moderately elongate, compressed fish. As its common name implies, it has very large eyes. The diameter of the eye is greater than the distance between the eye and upper jaw.

The species has a brown to yellow stripe from the snout to the upper caudal peduncle. It has diagonal golden lines following the scale rows above the lateral line and horizontal stripes below. The fins are yellow.

Size range

The Bigeye Snapper grows to 30 cm in length.

Distribution

It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-West Pacific.

In Australia it is known from off north-western Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the northern coast of Queensland.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums.  Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Lutjanus lutjanus

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Bigeye Snapper specimens in the Australian Museums.

What does this mean?

Habitat

It occurs on coral reefs and inshore areas to depths of 90 m.

Other behaviours and adaptations

The Bigeye Snapper is a schooling species.

Classification

Species:
lutjanus
Genus:
Lutjanus
Family:
Lutjanidae
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

  1. 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.
  2. Anderson, W.D. & G.R. Allen. 2001. Lutjanidae. in Carpenter, K.E. & V.H. Niem (Eds). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae). FAO, Rome. Pp. iii-iv, 2791-3379.
  3. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
  4. Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J., & G.G. Leyland. 1985. Continental Shelf Fishes of northern and northwestern Australia. An illustrated Guide. CSIRO Division of Fisheries Research. Pp. 375.


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Tags fish, ichthyology, Bigeye Snapper, Lutjanus lutjanus, schooling species, tropical water, marine, inshore water, coral reef, Bigeye Seaperch, eleongate, compressed body, large eyes, stripes or bands, yellow fins, 10 cm - 30 cm, yellow stripe,