Lutjanus vitta

Osteichthyes Lutjanidae Genus Lutjanus Lutjanus vitta
Brownstripe snapper LUJ
23.2 cm TL
Characteristic features:
Colour:

Pale brownish to pinkish, narrow dark mid-lateral stripe on side, fainter brownish lines between scale rows on sides; fins yellow.

Size:

Up to 40 cm TL.

Distribution:

East Indian and West Pacific in tropical waters

Habitat:

Adults found near coral reefs from 10 to 20 m depth.

Biology:

Feeds on fishes, shrimps, crabs and other benthic crustaceans. Brownstripe snapper form small schools of about 30 individuals, or are solitary. A small species that displays rapid growth early in life, reaching asymptotic length within an average of 3 years.1 Off the southwest coast of India length at first maturity was estimated at 15.8 and 14.5 cm TL for females and males respectively.2 Here, brownstripe snapper display broadcast spawning between September – December.2 In the Great Barrier Reef maximum recorded age is 12 years.

Indonesian fisheries:

Caught mainly with handlines, traps and bottom trawls.

Similar species:

Lutjanus bitaeniatus
Indonesian snapper

Lutjanus bitaeniatus

Juvenile Lutjanus bitaeniatus differ in having a vomerine tooth patch with medial posterior extension (vs. without posterior medial extension); posterior profile of dorsal and anal fins angular (vs. rounded) and a black spot absent or an oval black spot, eye-sized or greater, present below last dorsal-fin spine (vs. crescentic blackish blotch in the middle of the caudal fin).

to Lutjanus bitaeniatus

Lutjanus lutjanus
Bigeye snapper

Lutjanus lutjanus

Lutjanus lutjanus differs in having a space between eye and mouth about narrower than eye diameter (vs. about equal to eye diameter) and thin yellow stripes, with a broader yellow mid-lateral stripe (vs. numerous thin brown stripes, frequently with a broad dark brown mid-lateral stripe).

to Lutjanus lutjanus

Lutjanus mizenkoi
Mizenko's snapper

Lutjanus mizenkoi

Lutjanus mizenkoi differs in having a scaleless preopercular flange (vs. scaled) and thin yellow stripes with broader midlateral yellow stripe (vs. numerous thin brown stripes, frequently with a broad dark brown mid-lateral stripe).

to Lutjanus mizenkoi

Lutjanus xanthopinnis
Yellowfin snapper

Lutjanus xanthopinnis

Lutjanus xanthopinnis differs in having thin yellow stripes with broader midlateral yellow stripe (vs. numerous thin brown stripes plus a broad midlateral dark stripe).

to Lutjanus xanthopinnis
External links:

FishBase
The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM

References:
  1. Newman SJ, Cappo M, Williams DM. Age, growth and mortality of the stripey, Lutjanus carponotatus (Richardson) and the brown-stripe snapper, L. vitta (Quoy and Gaimard) from the central Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Fisheries Research [Internet]. 2000;48(3):263–75. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-7836(00)00184-3
  2. Ramachandran S, Ali D, Varghese BC. Age, growth and maturity of brown stripe snapper Lutjanus vitta (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) from southwest coast of India. Journal of Marine Biological Association of India [Internet]. 2013;55(2):61–8. Available from: https://doi.org/10.6024/jmbai.2013.55.2.01638-10