Lavender jobfish (Pristipomoides sieboldii) is a saltwater species recorded in Taiwan, Malaysia. It is found at depths of 100–360 m.
Scientific name: Pristipomoides sieboldii · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 79 cm
The lavender jobfish is a lutjanid whose adults live over rocky bottoms; off Guam it is caught most abundantly between about 180 and 270 m. It feeds on fishes, shrimps, crabs, polychaetes, cephalopods and urochordates. It occurs in tropical and subtropical waters between roughly 35 degrees north and 32 degrees south, from 100 to 360 m, and is a deep-water species. It reaches about 79 cm total length, commonly 40 cm, and up to about 8.4 kg. It supports commercial fisheries and is a game fish, marketed mostly fresh and taken mainly with bottom longlines and deep handlines, selling in the highest price band, with a trophic level of 3.7, moderate fishing vulnerability at 36 of 100, and medium resilience.
The body is elongated and robust, with a depth of roughly 30 to 40% of its standard length. The space between the eyes is flat and the lower jaw slightly protrudes. Both jaws carry an outer row of conical and canine-like teeth with an inner band of bristle-like teeth behind them, the vomerine teeth are arranged in a diamond-shaped patch, and there are teeth on the tongue as well. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 11 soft rays and the anal fin 3 spines and 8 soft rays; the bases of both fins lack scales, and the last soft ray of each is extended into a short filament. The pectoral fins are long, reaching back as far as the anus, and contain 16 rays, while the caudal fin is forked. The overall colour is silvery with a lavender tint, which is where the name comes from. The top of the head is marked with dark spots that are more noticeable in younger fish, the dorsal fin has an orange margin, and the caudal fin is purplish with pale margins on the fork. Its range runs from the Red Sea and East Africa south to South Africa and through the coasts and islands of the Indian Ocean into the Pacific, east to Hawaii and north to Japan. It reaches sexual maturity at about three years old and lives no more than eight years.
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