[3] The description is attributed to the Finnish-born Swedish explorer Peter Forsskål by FishBase,[2] but the Catalog of Fishes attributes as follows “Fabricius [J. C.] in Niebuhr (ex Forsskål) 1775:46, xi [Descriptiones animalium (Forsskål)” Catalog of Fishes then states that the valid binomial is Lutjanus bohar (Fabricius, 1775).

[3] The specific name bohar is the Arabic word used for this fish in the Red Sea.

These large reddish tropical snappers show darker fins, a rounded profile of head and a groove running from the nostrils to the eyes.

[6] It is a long-lived and slow-growing species which reaches maturity at 8–9 years, and the oldest recorded individual is 56.

Small brownish juveniles mimic damselfishes of the genus Chromis in order to approach their prey.