Thumbprint emperor, Blackblotch emperor, Blackspot emperor
Lethrinus harak, the thumbprint emperor blackblotch emperor or blackspot emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the Family Lethrinidae. the emperors and emperor breams. This species is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Lethrinus harak has the specific name harak which Forsskål used in his notes, deriving it from the Arabic name for this fish in the Red Sea, Abu m’hárrak.
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withLethrinus harak has its dorsal fin supported by 10 spines and 9 soft rays while there are 3 spines and 8 soft rays supporting the anal fin. This species is olive-green in colour, becoming paler toward the belly. It can grow to a maximum length of 50 cm (20 in) but is commonly found at 30 cm (12 in). There is a characteristic large blotch on the sides. It is dark and elliptical, located directly under the lateral line. This blotch often has a yellow edge. There are occasionally pale blue dots around each nostril and bordering the lower rim of the eyes. The caudal fin is reddish or orange in colour. The pelvic, dorsal, and pectoral fins are all pinkish to white. The mouth is somewhat protractile with thick lips.
Lethrinus harak has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution occurring along the eastern coast of Africa from the northern Red Sea south to South Africa, the islands of the western Indian Ocean, the Madives, Sri Lanka and southern India. It is then found from the Andmana Sea and Indo-Malayan Archipelago into the Pacific Ocean as far east as Samoa, north to Japan and soyth to northeastern Australia.
This fish lives in depths of up to 20 m (66 ft) in areas with sandy bottoms, coral rubble, and in mangroves, inshore seagrass areas, in lagoons and channels. It is non-migratory and forms small schools or may be solitary. This species uses seagrass beds as nusery areas.
Lethrinus harak eats crustaceans, molluscs, polychaetes, echinoderms and small fishes. It is frequently found as solitary individuals but may be found in small schools. They are territorial and have small, well defined home ranges which have their size determined by intraspecific competition between fishes of similar sizes, the larger the fish the larger the home range. The thumbprint emperor is thought to be a protogynous hermaphrodite which gathers in spawning aggregations to breed, in Japan spawning has been recorded from April to November, although it spawns in all months at Guam.
