Plectropomus laevis
Bluespotted Coral Trout | Blacksaddled Coral Trout | Blacksaddled Coralgrouper | Blacksaddled Leopard Grouper | Chinese Footballer | Footballer Cod | Footballer Coral Trout | Giant Coral Trout | Oceanic Coral Trout | Saddleback Coralgrouper | Tiger Trout
Plectropomus laevis, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Plectropomus laevis, adult, Footballer variation. Maldives, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Plectropomus laevis, Cook Islands, Photo: Graham Edgar
Plectropomus laevis, adult, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Plectropomus laevis, juvenile, QLD, Australia, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Plectropomus laevis, Footballer variation. Maldives, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Plectropomus laevis, adult, Coral Sea, QLD, Photo: Andrew Green
Similar Species
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Two distinct colour forms. Dark form similar to P. areolatus (Passionfruit Coral Trout) but with smaller blue spots on body, dark head, and five dark grey saddles on back. “Chinese footballer” form is white with black saddles and yellow fins. Length to 125cm.
Information
Max Size: 125 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 22.9-30.7°C
Depth: 4-100m
Habitat Generalization Index: 19.15
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Vulnerable
Occurrence: Common (30.8% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Few (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields