Larvae and juveniles of species of Lethrinus were collected from the south-western lagoon
of New Caledonia between May 2005 and March 2006, using diverse sampling gear (Table
SI, Supporting information). Upon recovery, all captured fishes were euthanized using >0·1%
ethyl 4-aminobenzoate (benzocaine) (American Veterinary Medical Association, 2007) and
then preserved in 75% ethanol. In the laboratory, a total of 45 individual fishes were identified
as belonging to the genus according to their meristic characteristics and pigmentation patterns,
following Wilson (1998), Leis & Carson-Ewart (2000) and Carpenter & Niem (2001).