Emperors

EMPERORS

DESCRIPTION:

Members of the Lethrinidae family, Emperors are tropical snappers and like our snapper they are some of the hardest fish to spear.  There are too many species of Emperor for us to discuss them individually but they all inhabit similar areas and behave alike.  Here are some of the more common ones:

Spangled Emperor, Lethrinus nebulosus:  A yellowy, tan colour with blue spots on its scales and blue bars on its head.  May grow up to 86cm, 6.5kg.  Also known as North West snapper.

Long-Nosed Emperor, Lethrinus olivaceus:  The long-nose is distinguished by it's long snout and overall greyish colour.  It grows to 100cm and 10kg.

Sweet-Lip Emperor, Lethrinus miniatus: Similar in shape to the long-nose but distinguished by red patches at the base of the fins, around the eye and in the throat.  May grow to 90cm and 7kg.  Also known as red-throat emperor.