Lethrinus ornatus Valenciennes
Creators: name: Wilson, G. G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 1998
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Perciformes
Lethrinidae
Lethrinus
Lethrinus ornatus

description: <i>Lethrinus ornatus</i> Valenciennes PI. 3C Material examined. (11 specimens: 20-91 mm). AUSTRALIA Great Barrier Reef region, AMS 1.34917 - 001 (1: 32 mm), AMS 1.34932 - 001 (1: 36 mm), not retained (6:20-69); INDONESIA Maumere Bay (Flores), not retained (2: 20 mm); SOLOMON ISLANDS New Georgia Island, AMS 1.22128 - 154 (1: 91 mm). Diagnosis. Body relatively deep, its depth 2.5-2.8 in SL; 5.5 dorsal scale rows, 15 ventral scale rows; maxillary serrations 2-4 at 20 mm, absent at greater than 28 mm; dorsal spine 5 the longest at 20-60 mm (rarely 4 at greater than 50 mm). Diagnostic colour notes. Primary stripes 4, bright orange, of similarwidth and intensity, interspaces silvery off-white; fins hyaline, pink to pale scarlet distally; pale scarlet band along rear margin of operculum at greater than 28 mm; dark markings seldom displayed. Colour notes. A striking species with few differences in colouration between adults and juveniles, difficult to confuse with other <i>Lethrinus</i> species. At 20-80 mm (PI. 3A): dorsum and nape pale grey-tan, flank silvery offwhite, belly off-white; 4 prominent bright orange primary stripes, of similar width and intensity, fine grey borders, interspaces grey-tan or silvery off-white, dorsal stripe extending to below medial dorsal rays, remaining stripes terminating at base of caudal peduncle; black banding and cuboidal shoulder blotch seldom displayed infield although common at capture (PI. 3C) and after death, rapidly switched on or off, 6-7 bands along dorsum, most connecting with further banding between lateral-line and belly, 2-3 similar bands along caudal peduncle; dark midlateral stripe occasionally displayed in field, dark grey, width approximately 4.0 in body depth, obscuring dorsal and orbital stripes, pectoral and ventral stripes usually remaining visible though dulled; head similar to body, snout yellow-brown, cheek silvery off-white, may have diffuse tan blotch, eye often bisected by near-vertical black band in field, pale scarlet band developing along rear margin of operculum from 28 mm (faded in PI. 3C); fins mostly hyaline, caudal and pectoral fins pale pinkish yellow, anterior half of spinous fins off-white with dark grey patches basally, deep pink to scarlet distally in field, diffuse pink at capture (as in PI. 3C) and when freshly-killed. At greater than 80 mm, body, head and fins as in smaller specimens, dark mid-lateral stripe and banding absent. Colour in alcohol. Dorsum pale grey-tan with 5-6 dark bands; ventral half of body and primary stripes faded to off-white, dark banding below lateral-line dissected by primary stripes into 3-6 series of square blotches; banding retained along caudal peduncle; fins hyaline. Ecology. Uncommon at Green Island, settles at 19-21 mm into shallow reef seagrass habitats, remaining there until 70-80 mm; solitary, not appearing site attached, seldom in close association with other fishes, occasionally joining small loose schools with juvenile <i>Stethojulis strigiventor, Siganusjuscescens, Parupeneus indicus</i> and congeners of a similar size, particularly in the presence of piscivorous carangids or lutjanids; at 40-70 mm periodically resting briefly at the base of the seagrass canopy in tall-dense <i>Cymodocea</i> and <i>Halodule,</i> fleeing over the canopy when disturbed. Field identification. Juvenile <i>L. ornatus</i> are best distinguished in the field by their deep body profile, intense orange primary stripes and rarity of conspicuous dark banding or mid-lateral stripe patterns (cf. frequent displays in other species with bright primary stripes). Recentlysettled specimens display near-identical colouration to later stages, although less conspicuously.
description: Published as part of <i>Wilson, G. G., 1998, A description of the early juvenile colour patterns of eleven Lethrinus species (Pisces: Lethrinidae) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, pp. 55-83 in Records of the Australian Museum 50 (1)</i> on page 78, DOI: 10.3853/j.0067-1975.50.1998.1274, http://zenodo.org/record/4652850