''Lutjanus agennes'', the African red snapper, Guinean snapper or African cubera snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lutjanidae, the snappers. It is native to the coastal Atlantic waters of Africa.

Taxonomy

''Lutjanus agennes'' was first formally described in 1863 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Pieter Bleeker with the type locality given as “Ashantee in Guinea”. Bleeker did not explain the derivation of the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

but it may be from ''agenes'', which means “of low family”, possibly a reference to its similarity to '' L. modestus'', the name ''modestus'' meaning the “modest or unassuming one”. Bleeker also described ''L. modestus'' in 1863 and it is not clear whether this is a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of this species or '' L. endecacanthus''.

Description

''Lutjanus agennes'' has a relatively deep body with a pointed snout and a rather angular forehead. The mouth extends back to below the centre of the eye. The vomerine teeth are arranged in a triangular patch which may have a posterior extension. The incision and the knob on the

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

are not well developed. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 13–14 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

contains 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The overall colour is reddish brown to slightly orange on the back and upper flanks, shading to pink or whitish on lower flanks and abdomen. The tips of the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s are rather darks from there is no blue line on the cheeks. The juveniles are marked with 6 to 8 vertical rows of small white spots or slender bars on their flanks. This fish attains a maximum total length of , although is more typical, and the maximum published weight is .

Distribution and habitat

''Lutjanus agennes'' is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean where it occurs along the western coast of Africa from Senegal to Angola, it also occurs in the Cape Verde Islands and the islands of the Gulf of Guinea. It occurs from the surface down to , over rock substrates and reefs. It can also be found in brackish lagoons and estuaries, particularly juveniles.

Biology

''Lutjanus agennes'', like other snappers, is predatory and feeds mainly on fishes and crustaceans. This species may form large spawning aggregations away from the coasts, in the open sea. Larger individuals have been observed by fishermen to congregate in large numbers in areas of rocky reefs to spawn. It is thought that the West African snapper is a long lived species with a lifespan which may exceed 20 years.

Fisheries and conservation

''Lutjanus agennes'' is an important fish for fisheries throughout its range, especially for subsistence fisheries, and it is caught using handlines and fixed bottom nets. The catch is normally sold fresh. It is also caught commercially and the commercial catch is both consumed internally in West Africa, especially in the Gulf of Guinea and Cape Verde. Some of the catch from Ghana and Senegal is exported to Europe. This species is taken in mixed catch fisheries, and no separate catch statistics available. Potential spawning aggregations are thought to be being targeted in at least one part of its range. In spite of the fishing pressure the African red snapper appears to be common, juveniles are not caught throughout the range of this species. There is some evidence of overfishing as the size of the fish caught is declining in some areas. An example of this is in Ghana where the average catch sizes are no greater than . The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has listed as

Data Deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

as there is a paucity of information. They suggest that this species should be carefully monitored, as fishing practices in the region, in conjunction modelling results predict that there has been major reduction in the overall biomass of the stocks of this species, and they suggest that it may qualify to be assessed as Near Threatened or worse when more data becomes available. It is a quarry species for recreational anglers in some parts of its range.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2233181 agennes Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish described in 1863 Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker