Variola albimarginata
White-edged lyretail | Lunar-tailed Grouper | Lyre-tail Cod | Lyre-tail Trout | Moontail Seabass | Painted Coral Trout | Whitemargin Lyretail Grouper
Variola albimarginata, adult, Bali, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Variola albimarginata, adult, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Photo: Graham Edgar
Variola albimarginata, adult, Bali, Indonesia, Photo: Ian Shaw
Variola albimarginata, adult, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
Similar Species
Same Genus
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Red eye, colouration variable but generally pink to orange with blue spots aligned as stripes along side. Crescent tail distinguishes it from Plectropomus species (coral trouts). Typically very similar to the more frequently seen V. louti (Yellowedge Coronation Trout), but with fine white rear tail margin instead of yellow, and usually lighter upper and lower edges of tail.
Information
Max Size: 65 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 26.6-31.6°C
Depth: 4-200m
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
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: Least Concern
Occurrence: Infrequent (4.7% 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: Solitary (1 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland