Louvar, Luvarus imperialis Rafinesque, 1810
Loo, Luvaru, Silver King
Click to enlarge image
© NSW DPI
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Luvarus
- Species
- imperialis
- Family
- Luvaridae
- Order
- Perciformes
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- The Louvar grows to 2 m in length and 150 kg in weight.
Introduction
The Louvar is a stout, oval-shaped fish that occurs in tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans.
Identification
The Louvar has a stout oval-shaped body that tapers to a narrow caudal peduncle. It has a small mouth, and eyes that are positioned low on the head. The body is silver and the fins are pink. It is the only species in the family Luvaridae.
Habitat
The species lives its entire life in the open sea.
Distribution
The Louvar occurs in tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans. In Australia it is recorded from off northern to southern New South Wales.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
Life history cycle
Females produce huge number of eggs. A 1.7 m long individual was estimated to contain 47.5 million eggs.
References
- Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
- Johnson, G.D. & A.C. Gill. in Paxton, J.R. & W.N. Eschmeyer (Eds). 1994. Encyclopedia of Fishes. Sydney: New South Wales University Press; San Diego: Academic Press [1995]. Pp. 240.
- Nelson, J.S., 1994. Fishes of the World, third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pp: 600.
- Tyler, J.C., Johnson, G.D., Nakamura, I. & B.B. Collette. 1989. Morphology of Luvarus imperialis (Luvaridae), with a phylogenetic analysis of the Acanthuroidei (Pisces). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 485: 1-78.
