Common Name: Blacktail Snapper

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Recorded from the Indo-Pacific region: East Africa to the Marquesas and Line islands, north to southern Japan, south to Australia. In Australia recorded from around Shark Bay in Western Australia, across the tropical north including the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef south to northern New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Lagoons and sheltered areas, especially deep holes, areas with large boulders. Juveniles in mangrove areas, lower reaches of estuaries. Depth to 75 m.

Additional Notes: Body yellowish, with dark tail and dorsal fin. Anal and pectoral fins yellow. Anal and dorsal fin with white margin. Juvenile as pictured with yellowish stripes. Feeds mostly at night on small fish, crustaceans, cephalopods and holothurians. Known to cause ciguatera poisoning in the Pacific region. Grows to 40 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.152

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://www.fishbase.ca/summary/Lutjanus-fulvus.html. Accessed 27/06/21

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Lutjanus+fulvus Accessed 27/06/21