Scientific Name
Lethrinus miniatus

Common Name
Trumpet emperor

Biology
Inhabit coral reefs during daytime where they feed occasionally in sand and rubble areas between coral heads. At night, they move out over the sandy sea floor and forage actively. Usually occur in small schools. Feed mainly on crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks and fish, with crabs and sea urchins predominating. Much of the information reported for this species was based on misidentifications and referred to L. olivaceous (see Ref. 2295). Marketed fresh or frozen (Ref. 9987).

Classification

Classified By

Forster, 1801

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Emperors or scavengers (Lethrinidae)

Distribution

Region

Western Pacific

Distribution

Western Pacific: northern Australia (including Western Australia), New Caledonia, and the Ryukyu Islands. Occurrence records outside distributional range probably refer to Lethrinus olivaceus.

Range

28°N - 34°S

Environment

Climate

Tropical

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

5 m

Depth To - meters

30 m

Zone

reef-associated

Environment

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; non-migratory; depth range 5 - 30 m (Ref. 2295)

Trophic Level

3.47 s.e. 0.46 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

True

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

True

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

90.0 cm

Common Length

40.0 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes

Vulnerability

Moderate to high vulnerability (53 of 100)

Resilience

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.06-0.17; tm=2-3; tmax=22)

Threat To Humans

Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated