Snubnose emperor

Lethrinus borbonicus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth4–36 m
Water temperature22–30 °C
Best monthsMay, October, and December
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Ewout Knoester · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Lethrinus borbonicus, the snubnose emperor, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lethrinidae, the emperor breams and emperors. This species is found in the Western Indian Ocean and is of some importance to commercial fisheries in that region.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Lethrinus borbonicus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 9 records
February: 4 records
March: 7 records
April: 5 records
May: 13 records
June: 5 records
July: 4 records
August: 8 records
September: 8 records
October: 11 records
November: 8 records
December: 15 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–36 m · Deepest record: 42 m

0–10 m: 8 records
10–20 m: 4 records
20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 7 records
40–50 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–30 °C

22–24 °C: 3 records
24–26 °C: 8 records
26–28 °C: 25 records
28–30 °C: 20 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) pavlaki1968, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Snubnose emperor, snubnose emperor, Snubnose Emperor Bream

Other scientific names: Lethrinus bungus

Similar species

Longspine emperor
Lethrinus genivittatus
Pink ear emperor
Lethrinus lentjan
Trumpet emperor
Lethrinus miniatus
Spangled emperor
Lethrinus nebulosus
Pacific yellowtail emperor
Lethrinus atkinsoni
Orange-spotted emperor
Lethrinus erythracanthus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
146 open-data records from 1921 to 2023.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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