Lutjanus lutjanus Bloch, 1790 Bigeye

Yennawar, Prasanna, Mohapatra, Anil & Tudu, Prasad Chandra, 2017, An account of Ichthyofauna of Digha coast, West Bengal, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 117 (1), pp. 4-4 : 4-

25. Lutjanus lutjanus Bloch, 1790 Bigeye snapper

(Figure 26)

Materials examined: 6 ex., 09.06.11; Mohana, Digha; Reg No. MARC /ZSI/ F1835 .

Description: D: X, 12; A: III, 8. Dorsal profile of head gently sloped. Preorbital bone very narrow, much less than eye diameter. Preopercular notch and knob poorly developed. Scale rows on back rising obliquely above lateral line. Generally silvery white, with a broad yellow stripe running along the side from the eye to the caudal fin base. A series of faint narrow yellow horizontal lines is on the lower half of the body. The fins are pale yellow to whitish. Body depth 2.9-3.3 in SL. Body fusiform, dorsal profile of head gently sloped; Tongue with a patch of granular teeth; caudal fin slightly emarginated. Upper part of body golden yellow and ventral part silvery white; lower half of body with a series of yellow horizontal lines along scale rows; a broad yellow stripe runs from eye to caudal fin base. Caught mainly by handlines; common snapper; marketed fresh.

Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: East Africa to the Solomon Islands, north to southern Japan, south to Australia.

Remarks: The fish has highly commercial value. Size: 30 cm.