Blackspot Snapper

Scientific Name: Lutjanus ehrenbergii
Family: Snappers – Lutjanidae
Maximum Size: 35cm
Identification: Whitish undercolor with 5 thin yellow stripes below lateral line, yellowish tail and anal fins; large round black spot on lateral line below mid-dorsal fin.
Favourite: Usually form groups.
Hide-out: Coastal reefs and estuaries in 1-20m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific – Red Sea and E. Africa to E. Caroline Is. and Palau in Micronesia. S.W. Japan to N. Great Barrier Reef.

Black-Banded Snapper

Scientific Name: Lutjanus semicinctus
Family: Snappers – Lutjanidae
Maximum Size: 35cm
Identification: Olive back, white below; 7 black bars on upper half of body, large black spot covering tail base.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Lagoons and seaward reefs in 5-35m.
Location: West Pacific – Philippines and Molucca Is. in Indonesia to Great Barrier Reef (rare), New Caledonia, Fiji and Caroline Is. in Micronesia.

Black Snapper

Scientific Name: Macolor niger
Family: Snappers – Lutjanidae
Maximum Size: 60cm
Identification: Gray to gray-brown with numerous indistinct blotches; no blue lines or spots on head; large eye with dull gold iris.
Favourite: Solitary or form schools.
Hide-out: Steep slopes of lagoons, passes and outer reefs in 3-90m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific – Red Sea and E. Africa to Micronesia and Samoa. S.W. Japan to Australia and New Caledonia.

Bengal Snapper

Scientific Name: Lutjanus bengalensis
Family: Snappers – Lutjanidae
Maximum Size: 30cm
Identification: Yellow upper half of body with 4 neon-blue stripes; white unmarked lower body immediately below 4th stripe.
Favourite: Small groups congregate around outcroppings.
Hide-out: Coastal reefs, lagoons and outer slopes in 10-30m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific – Red Sea and E. Africa to Molucca Is. in E. Indonesia.

Green Jobfish

Scientific Name: Aprion virescens
Family: Snappers – Lutjanidae
Maximum Size: 100cm
Identification: Dark green to blue to bluish gray; slender cylindrical body with strongly forked tail, pectoral fins short; no distinctive markings.
Favourite: Usually solitary.
Hide-out: Lagoons, reef passes and outer slopes in 5-150m.
Location: Indo-Pacific – Red Sea and E. Africa to Micronesia, Hawaii and French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to Australia and Lord Howe I.