Fish
Yellow-edge Lyretail Rockcod
Variola louti
A gorgeous red-orange rockcod peppered with pale blue spots and finished with a bright yellow fin margin and lyre-shaped tail.
- Typical size
- Attains 80 cm (fork length)
- Habitat
- Coral and rocky reefs
- Depth
- 5-100 m
The yellow-edge lyretail runs brownish-red to orange-red, its head, body and median fins scattered with small irregular spots and streaks of pale blue, lavender, violet or pink. The pectoral and median fins carry a broad yellow edge, and the deeply forked tail gives the fish its lyretail name. Juveniles wear a dark band from eye to the rear of the dorsal base, dull yellow above and whitish below.
It reaches around 80 cm in fork length and ranges from the Red Sea south to Durban and east across the Pacific, holding on coral and rocky reef in relatively shallow to moderate depths.