Identification
The body is pink to red, with a deeply forked tail and an upper lobe that lengthens in adults. A scaled upper jaw and relatively flat space between the eyes are useful anatomical features when distinguishing this fish from other deepwater snappers.
Deepwater Habitat
Flame Snapper occurs across a broad Indo-Pacific range, including Hawaii and waters around Japan and Australia. It occupies rocky shelf and slope habitat. Reported captures extend to several hundred meters, so a shallow coral-reef setting would give a misleading picture of adult habitat.
Feeding and Size
Fishes, squid and crustaceans are recorded foods. The compiled maximum is 120 centimeters total length, including the tail. A long tail lobe contributes to that measurement, which should remain distinct from a body measurement ending at the tail base.
Check the Tail and Jaw
The elongated upper tail lobe is conspicuous, but jaw scales and other head characters help separate similar red deepwater snappers.
All Lakes With Flame Snapper
Browse all lakes and reservoirs with confirmed Flame Snapper records in our database, listed alphabetically.
No published lakes are currently linked to this species in our confirmed records.