The African brown snapper (''Lutjanus dentatus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa.

Taxonomy

The African brown snapper was first formally described in 1861 as ''Mesoprion dentatus'' by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

zoologist Auguste Duméril with the type locality given as Gorée in Senegal. The specific name ''dentatus'' means "toothed" and refers to the large teeth possessed by this species. An examination of a

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

of a

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

cubera snapper (''Lutjanus cyanopterus'') from Flores Island in the Azores with a vagrant specimen of this species from Gran Canaria suggested that these may be conspecific, if that is the case then ''L. dentatus'' will be a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of ''L. cyanopterus''. The little known Guinea snapper ('' Lutjanus endecacanthus'') is considered by some authorities to be synonymous with ''L. dentatus''.

Description

The African brown snapper has a relatively deep body with a slightly rounded head. Its mouth extends as far as the centre line of the eye and has thick lips. The notch and knob on the preoperculum are weak. The vomerine teeth are arranged in a triangular patch in adults, chevron shaped in juveniles and the adults sometime have a small rearwards extension. The dorsal fin contains 10 spines and 13-14 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. In adults the pectoral fins do not extend as far as the anus and contain 17 rays. The maximum total length recorded for this species is although is more typical, the maximum published weight is . The back and upper flanks of adults are dusky grey in colour fading to whiteish pink on the lower flanks and abdomen. The juveniles have alternating light and dark vertical bars of roughly equal widths on their flanks.

Distribution and habitat

The African brown snapper is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It occurs along the western coast of African from Senegal to Angola, including Bioko and São Tomé and Príncipe. It has occurred in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. This species is found in relatively shallow waters at depths between normally over rocky and coral reefs but it is also found in brackish lagoons, mangroves and occasionally in rivers.

Biology

The biology of the African brown snapper is little known, it is known to feed on smaller fishes and crustaceans.

Fisheries and conservation

The African brown snapper is fished for by commercial fisheries, along with its congeners. Although it commands high prices it is not as sought after as the African red snapper (''

Lutjanus agennes ''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 ...

''). Separate data is not collected on the catch of this species but the fish stocks in West Africa are known to be overexploited. Both commercial trawlers and artisanal fishers fish for this species and some of the catch is exported to Europe. It is also likely that spawning aggregations of snappers are being targeted. 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 ...

classify this species 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 ...

because no separate data is available but they do consider that because of intense fishing pressure and declines in all West African snapper stocks that it may actually be Near Threatened or

Vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

References

{{Taxonbar, From=Q3753400 African brown snapper Fish described in 1861