Emperorfish
Family
The medium-sized
emperor from the Lethrinidae dynasty is your typical middle-of-the road Red Sea
fish. Their robust bodies are equipped with oversized scales and a high-set
ocular system. Some species can rapidly change their colour. There are eleven
species of the Lethrinidae dynasty in the Red Sea.
The medium-sized Red
Sea emperorfish has prominent lips, as if it has been permanently swimming
against forceful currents... The emperor is not territorial and is a friend of
a friend of a friend as in gregarious. The emperor fish is a very sociable
fish, circulating in sometimes pretty large schools. The emperor fish is your
typical nocturnal hunter, eager to consume invertebrates, crustaceans and
smaller fish.
The Bedouin call the
emperor ‘shaur’.
Family Members
Bigeye Emperor
Size up to 60cm
(1,96ft). Depth up to 100m (328 ft)
The bigeye emperor with
its oval body and frontal profile is a common feature in the vicinity of
lagoons, bays and seaward reefs. It’s tale is strongly forked. It takes on a
marauding mode after sunset, successfully making life of hard-shelled
invertebrates miserable. Its body has a silver hue, completed by a light blue
and yellowish sheen. It has the capacity to change coloration and take on
vertical bars to fool opponents. Its eyes are pretty well developed. They are
hermaphroditic and protogynous, meaning that the female can turn into male. The
adults form schools.
Spangled Emperor
Size up to 80cm (2,62
ft). Depth up to 75m (246ft)
Its head is typified
by soft blue accents, the head itself being slightly concave. The spangled
emperor, also called the blue scale emperor, has a flattened and robust
body with a silvery hue and sky blue accents. the pattern conjuring up visions
of a chain mail. It houses in lagoons,
seaward reefs and sheltered bays. You will see it hovering over large beds of
seagrass and stalling near mangrove swamps. This solitary species, active
during both night and day, finds fish and hard-shelled invertebrates
particularly palatable. Although usually wary, they can be approachable.
Other Family Members
Black-Spot Emperor
Mahsena Emperor
Orange-Stripe Emperor
Smalltooth Emperor
Snubnose Emperor
Yellowlip Emperor