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  • EnglishName: Black and white snapper
  • Local Name : Foniyamas
  • Size : Common to 35 cm; max. 60 cm
  • Family: LUTJANIDAE
  • Order : Perciformes
  • Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 10 spines and 13 or 14 rays. Anal fin with 3 spines and 11 rays. Pectoral fin with 17 or 18 rays. Body depth 2.3-2.9 in standard length. Body relatively deep. Gill rakers on lower limb of first gill arch 60-70. Juveniles with very long pectoral fins. Caudal fin truncate or slightly emarginate.
  • Colour: Adults grey, in life with dusky yellow mottling on face. Juveniles black and white, without a black horizontal band from eye to operculum edge.
  • Habitat and Biology: Inhabits coral reefs and is usually seen solitary, sometime in large schools. Occurs at depths between 5 and 90 m. Feeds largely on fishes and crustaceans.
  • Distribution: Indo-West Pacific.
  • Remarks: Juveniles of the two species of Macolor are sometimes used in the aquarium fish trade. They can be distinguished by colour pattern (there is a white band behind the eye in Macolor niger) and pelvic fin length (very long in Macolor macularis).