Bluespotted Coral Trout, Plectropomus laevis (Lacépède, 1801)

Scientific name: Plectropomus laevis
Alternative name/s:
Black-saddled Coral-trout, Blacksaddle Coralgrouper, Blacksaddled Coralgrouper, Blacksaddled Coraltrout, Blue-spot Trout, Chinese Footballer, Footballer Cod, Footballer Coral Trout, Footballer Trout, Footballer-cod, Oceanic Coral Trout, Oceanic Trout, Tiger Trout
Bluespotted Coral Trout, Plectropomus laevis Click to enlarge image
A Bluespotted Coral Trout at a depth of 12m, USS Liberty, Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia, 9 October 2005 Image: William White
© William White

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Plectropomus
    Species
    laevis
    Family
    Serranidae
    Order
    Perciformes
    Class
    Actinopterygii
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    It grows to at least 1 m in length.

Introduction

The Bluespotted Coral Trout is a large tropical species that is a prized food fish, but is responsible for numerous cases of ciguatera fish poisoning.

Identification

Two colour phases are known. The first is white with dark brown bars and yellow fins. The second is red-brown with small blue spots on the head, body and fins. It has less conspicuous dark bars than the first colour phase.

Distribution

The species occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific region.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

References

  1. Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
  2. Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.