Animal Species:Louvar, Luvarus imperialis Rafinesque, 1810

The Louvar is a stout, oval-shaped fish that occurs in tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans.

Louvar on the beach near Eden

Louvar on the beach near Eden
Ian Merrington © NSW DPI

Alternative Name/s

Loo, Luvaru, Silver King

Identification

The Louvar has a stout oval-shaped body that tapers to a narrow caudal peduncle. It has a small mouth, and eyes that are positioned low on the head. The body is silver and the fins are pink. It is the only species in the family Luvaridae.

Size range

The Louvar grows to 2 m in length and 150 kg in weight.

Distribution

The Louvar occurs in tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans. In Australia it is recorded from off northern to southern New South Wales.

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.

Luvarus imperialis Ozcam map of Louvar specimens in the Australian Museum.

What does this mean?

Habitat

The species lives its entire life in the open sea.

Life cycle

Females produce huge number of eggs. A 1.7 m long individual was estimated to contain 47.5 million eggs.

Classification

Species:
imperialis
Genus:
Luvarus
Family:
Luvaridae
Order:
Perciformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

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. Johnson, G.D. & A.C. Gill. in Paxton, J.R. & W.N. Eschmeyer (Eds). 1994. Encyclopedia of Fishes. Sydney: New South Wales University Press; San Diego: Academic Press [1995]. Pp. 240.
  3. Nelson, J.S., 1994. Fishes of the World, third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pp: 600.
  4. Tyler, J.C., Johnson, G.D., Nakamura, I. & B.B. Collette. 1989. Morphology of Luvarus imperialis (Luvaridae), with a phylogenetic analysis of the Acanthuroidei (Pisces). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 485: 1-78.

 


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated:

Tags fishes, ichthyology, Louvar, Luvarus imperialis, Luvaridae, pink, round, > 2 m, pelagic, marine, adult, large forehead,