The blackfin snapper (''Lutjanus buccanella''), also known as the blackspot snapper, blackfin red snapper, gun-mouth backfin, gun-mouth snapper, redfish and wrenchman is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

, a snapper belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Lutjanidae Lutjanidae, or snappers are a family of perciform fish, mainly marine, but with some members inhabiting estuaries, feeding in fresh water. The family includes about 113 species. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapp ...

. It is native to the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. It is a commercially important species, though it has been reported to carry the

ciguatera Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), also known simply as ciguatera, is a foodborne illness caused by eating reef fish whose flesh is contaminated with certain toxins. Such individual fish are said to be ciguatoxic. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vom ...

toxin.

Taxonomy

The blackfin snapper was first formally described as ''Mesoprion buccanellla'' in 1828 by the French

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

Georges Cuvier with the type locality given as jointly as

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

and St Thomas Island in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. The specific name is based on the local name for this species on Martinique, ''boucanella''.

Description

The blackfin snapper has the typical almond-shaped body of the snappers in the genus ''

Lutjanus ''Lutjanus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, snappers belonging to the family Lutjanidae. They are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. They are predatory fish usually found in tropical and subtropical reefs, and mangrove fo ...

'', its body is relatively deep and laterally compressed. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

is continuous but has two lobes, the

caudal 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 ...

truncate In mathematics and computer science, truncation is limiting the number of digits right of the decimal point. Truncation and floor function Truncation of positive real numbers can be done using the floor function. Given a number x \in \mathb ...

, the

pectoral 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 ...

s are long and the anal fin is rounded. The mouth is large with a slightly protrusible upper jaw which slips under the cheekbone when the mouth is closed. Each jaw has at least one row of pointed conical teeth some of which have developed into canines. The

vomerine teeth The vomer (; lat, vomer, lit=ploughshare) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxill ...

are arranged in a

chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

with a posterior extension running down the centre of the roof of mouth, on each side of the roof of the mouth there is a single tooth patch. The preopercular incision and knob are poorly developed. The scale rows on the back extend diagonally from the lateral line. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 14 soft rays, with a slight incision after the spines, while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

recorded for this species is although is more typical, and the maximum published weight is . The overall colour of this species is red fading to silvery-red on the abdomen. The caudal, anal and pelvic fins are yellowish. There is an obvious dark comma at the base of the pectoral fins, which gave this fish its most widely accepted common name. The juveniles are resemble the adults but they have a wide vivid yellow patch on the dorsal part of the

caudal peduncle 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 see ...

Distribution and habitat

The blackfin snapper is a species of the western Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

southwards along the Atlantic coast of the United States to the Bahamas, then west into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

from the Florida Keys, the Flower Garden Banks and vicinity to

Veracruz, Mexico Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

south to the northern Yucatan Peninsula and northwestern Cuba. It also extends throughout the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

, along the South American coast as far south as

Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

. It occurs over sandy and rocky substrates close to ledges at depths of . The adults are found offshore close to the continental shelf, while the juveniles are normally found in rocky outcroppings in the vicinity of reefs in shallower waters at depths between .

Biology

The blackfin snapper is social species which can aggregate in small schools. It is a predator feeding opportunistically near the sea bed. The adults' diet is dominated by smaller fishes, the juveniles feed on more invertebrates including shrimp and worms, eating more fish as they grow. This species has been recorded as

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...

throughout the year, with peaks in April and September. Spawning takes place mainly off Jamaica and the eggs are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...

, floating with the currents. This species has a number of predators throughout its life including other snappers,

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...

s and

moray eel Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are f ...

Fisheries and conservation

The blackfin snapper is considered to be a good fish for eating which is mainly sold at market as fresh fish. It is caught as part of a mixed snapper catch using traps, handlines and longlines. There have been reports of ciguatera poisoning after the consumption of the blackfin snapper. Although it is suspected that some populations may have declined there is almost no statistics on landings or abundance for this species landings. The deeper habitats and resultant specialised fishing equipment required to catch this species offer some protection from overexploitation. As there is not enough information on the population status of this species, the IUCN list it as Data Deficient.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2143710

blackfin snapper The blackfin snapper (''Lutjanus buccanella''), also known as the blackspot snapper, blackfin red snapper, gun-mouth backfin, gun-mouth snapper, redfish and wrenchman is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutja ...

Fish of the Caribbean Fish of the Western Atlantic

Taxa named by Georges Cuvier