Snapper :

EnglishName: Snapper
Local Name : Raiy reendhoo mas
Size : Max. 30 cm
Family: LUTJANIDAE
Order : Perciformes
Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 10 or 11 spines and 13 or 14 rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 8 rays. Pectoral fin with 16 or17 rays. Body depth 2.4-2.6 in standard length. Scale rows rising obliquely above lateral line. Crescentic tooth patch on roof of mouth without posterior extension. Distinct preopercular notch and interopercular knob.
Colour: Pink with about 10 pale yellow stripes on sides. Fins mainly yellowish. Upper pectoral axil brown. Some specimens with a black spot on back below anterior part of soft dorsal fin.
Habitat and Biology: Inhabits coral reefs at depths between about 15 and 100 m. Often in schools of up to 30-40 individuals. Feeds mainly on fishes, crustaceans, cephalopods and some planktons.
Distribution: Maldives to Western Pacific.
Remarks: The two specimens reported here constitute the only record of Lutjanus rufolineatus from the Maldives, and indeed from the entire central Indian Ocean. The previous most westerly records were from the Indian Ocean coast of Sumatra. This species was previously recorded as Lutjanus boutton in the Catalogue of Fishes of the Maldives.

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