SERRANIDAE


Cephalopholis leopardus, 11.7 cm SL
(Photo by Richard Winterbottom)


Cephalopholis leopardus
(Lacepède, 1801)
Leopard Hind

D IX, 13-15; A III, 9-10; P1 16-18; P2 I, 5; LLp 47-50; GR 7-9 + 15-17.

Body moderately elongate; body depth less than head length, 2.5-2.8 in SL. Head length 2.2-2.4 in SL. Teeth on palatines. Dorsal-fin membranes distinctly incised between spines. Caudal fin rounded. Pectoral fin middle rays longest, its length 1.4-1.6 in head length. Longest pelvic-fin soft ray length 2.0-2.3 in head length. No auxiliary scales on body. Color: body mottled reddish brown, with numerous red-orange or pinkish red spots. A dark black saddle spot on caudal peduncle, followed by a smaller spot. An oblique dark brown or reddish streak on upper part of caudal fin submarginally. Size: maximum length 20 cm. Distribution: widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific, from east coast of Africa east to French Polynesia, including southern Japan and northern Australia. No records from the Red Sea or Persian Gulf. Remarks: usually found on welldeveloped coral reefs in depths of 3 to 38 m. Feeds mainly on crustaceans.(Hiroyuki Motomura)