Fishes - Australian Museum Fish Site

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Spangled Emperor
Lethrinus nebulosus (Forsskål, 1775)

Spangled Emperor
A juvenile Spangled Emperor at a depth of 5 m , Shelly Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, April 2008. Photo © J. Regan. View larger image.

The Spangled Emperor is yellow to yellowish brown with blue markings on the head and sides of body. The cheeks lack scales.

It grows to about 86 cm in length.

The species occurs on coral reefs, rocky reefs and sandy habitats in tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-west Pacific.

In Australia it is known from south-western Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south on the east coast to the central coast of New South Wales.

It has previously been known by many common names, including Green Snapper, North-west, Snapper, Nor’-west Snapper, Sand Bream, Sand Snapper, Sixteen-pounder and Yellow Sweetlip.

Related links

Further reading

  1. Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. in Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
  2. Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
  3. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
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