HAEMULIDAE


Diagramma pictum, 18.6 cm SL
(photo by Seishi Kimura)


Diagramma pictum
(Thunberg, 1792)
Yellow-spotted Slatey

D IX-X, 20-26; A III, 7; P1 16-18; LLp 55-74; GR 17-23.

Body deep and compressed. Profile of snout steep; lips fleshy; chin with six pores; lower jaw without longitudinal groove at midline. Color: varying much by size; large adult silvery gray, with or without dusky spots; subadult pale gray with numerous bright yellow or dusky spots or lines on head, body and fins; juvenile with broad longitudinal black bands on body. Size: 100 cm, commonly to 45 cm. Distribution: Indo- West Pacific. Remarks: inhabits rocky and coral reefs and sandy bottoms. Nocturnal, forming small aggregations by day and dispersing at night for feeding; feeds on small benthic invertebrates. As well as the specimens from the West Pacific (excluding Australia and southern New Guinea), Johnson et al. (2001) identified the Andaman specimens as Diagramma pictum pictum, one of five subspecies of D. pictum they recognized. Characteristics of the photo specimen agree with the description of D. p. pictum made by Johnson et al. (2001), except for some coloration. (Koichi Shibukawa)