Lethrinus rubrioperculatus

Lethrinus rubrioperculatus,the spotcheek emperor, red-eared emperor, red-ears, red-edged emperor, scarlet-cheek emperor, and spot cheek emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperors or emperor breams. This species has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.

Lethrinus rubrioperculatus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Acanthuriformes
Family:	Lethrinidae
Genus:	Lethrinus
Species:	L. rubrioperculatus
Binomial name
Lethrinus rubrioperculatus Sato, 1978 [2][3]

Description

Lethrinus rubrioperculatus grows to and is brown or olive-grey in colour. It has small, scattered blotches that are irregular in chape. The Body depth 2.94 to 3.18 times in standard length. Body color is olive-gray or brown, with scattered irregular small black blotches. There is normally a red spot present on the top edge of the operculum.^[4] The lips are normally red. The fins are pinkish or pale in colour.^[5]

Distribution

Lethrinus rubrioperculatus is found in numerous locations, including East African waters, southern Japan and Taiwan, the Marquesas Islands, New Caledonia^[6][7] and the northern half of Australia.^[4][8]

Habitat

Lethrinus rubrioperculatus lives over sandy bottoms, in areas where rubble is present, and along the slopes of outer reefs.^[4] Although reef-associated, Lethrinus rubrioperculatus also occurs at depths of up to 160 metres, much deeper than most other species in this genus.^[9] This species is non-migratory.^[5]

Diet

Lethrinus rubrioperculatus eats mostly crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, and other fishes.^[4]

Human uses

Lethrinus rubrioperculatus is caught commercially.^[4]

Parasites

Calydiscoides euzeti,^[10] a monogenean parasite of L. rubrioperculatus

Lethrinus rubrioperculatus, as in most fish, is the host of many species of parasites.^[11] Monogeneans parasitic on the gills include the diplectanid Calydiscoides euzeti,^[10] the ancyrocephalids Lethrinitrema gibbus and Lethrinitrema dossenus^[12] and several capsalids.^[11] Copepods parasitic on the gills include the caligid Caligus lethrinicola^[13] and the lernanthropid Sagum vespertilio.^[11] The gills also harbour unidentified gnathiid isopod larvae.^[11] The digestive tract harbours an unidentified Acanthocephala,^[11] unidentified tetraphyllid cestodes,^[11] species of the anisakid nematode Raphidascaris (Ichthyascaris),^[14] and a variety of digeneans, including the acanthocolpid Stephanostomum aaravi,^[15] the hemiurid Lecithochirium sp. and Tubulovesicula angusticauda,^[11] the opecoelid Pseudoplagioporus interruptus^[11] and three other opecoelids.^[11] The abdominal cavity contains two species of larval tetrarhynch cestodes, the otobothriid Otobothrium parvum^[11] and the tentaculariid Nybelinia goreensis.^[11] In New Caledonia, where its parasites were particularly studied, Lethrinus rubrioperculatus has a total of twenty species of parasites.^[11]