Common Name: Blue Stripe Seaperch

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region: East Africa and Red Sea to the Marquesas and Line Islands, north to southern Japan, south to Australia. In Australia recorded from Shark Bay in Western Australia, across the tropical north to the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, south to central New South Wales and including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequents coral reefs, coastal reef slopes, offshore islands. Aggregate around coral formations, caves and wrecks. Juveniles in seagrass beds around patch reefs. Depth to 265 m, usually 30 – 150 m.

Additional Notes: Four dark edged blue stripes on upper body, pale underside often with five faint lines, see bottom image. Similar to and may be confused with Five Line Seaperch, Lutjanus quinquelineatus, which has a yellow belly and five blue stripes, the lowest under the level of the pectoral fin. Feeds on fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods. 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.153.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=lutjanus+kasmira. Accessed 05/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Lutjanus-kasmira.html. Accessed 05/06/18.