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Black and White Snapper
Macolor niger (Forsskål, 1775)
A Black and White Snapper at a depth of 5 m, 'Cod Hole', Ribbon Reef #10, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, June 2002. View larger image. Photo: Erik Schlögl.
The Black and White Snapper is a moderately elongate fish with a large weakly forked caudal fin. It has many (85-108) long gill rakers that are used to sieve plankton from the water.
It is usually a plain bluish-grey above and paler below. It has dark fins. The head may have a reticulated pattern of pale bluish lines.
The Black and White Snapper grows to 60 cm in length.
It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-West and Central Pacific.
In Australia it is known from off north-western Western Australia and from the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Black and White Snapper is also known as the Black and White Seaperch and Black Snapper.
It looks similar to the Midnight Seaperch. The two species can be distinguished by the Midnight Seaperch's yellowish-brown head with bright blue lines and spots.
Related links
- Midnight Seaperch fact sheet
- View the Coral Snappers list
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
