The golden African snapper (''Lutjanus fulgens'') is a species 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 hor ...

, a snapper belonging to the

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

Lutjanidae. It is native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

Taxonomy

The golden African snapper was first formally described in 1830 by the French zoologist Achille Valenciennes with the type locality given as Gorée in Senegal. The specific name ''fulgens'' means “bright” or “brilliant”, a reference to the vivid colour of lower body as well as the shining background colour shining with its 15-56 horizontal golden-yellow stripes.

Description

The golden African snapper has a moderately slender body with a short snouted, blunt head with very large eyes. The mouth extends back to below the centre of the eye. 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 triangular patch which has an obvious 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 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 conv ...

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

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 relatively short and do not extend as far as the anus and 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 se ...

emarginate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

. This fish attains a 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 ...

of , although is more typical. The colour of the back and upper flanks is bright pink and silvery white on lower flanks and abdomen, along the flanks there are a number of longitudinal golden stripes, one on each scale row.

Distribution and habitat

The golden African snapper is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It ranges along the west coast of Africa from Senegal to Nigeria and then from the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

south to Angola. It has been reported from Cape Verde and the islands in the Gulf of Guinea.This

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

species occurs at depths between , the adults over rock substrates.

Biology

The golden African snapper is a predatory species, feeding on other fishes and

crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

Fisheries

The golden African snapper is targeted by subsistence and commercial fisheries, it is fished for primarily using trawl, hook and line and spearfishing. In Ghana it is one of the important fish species utilised in the coastal zone. It is mainly sold fresh.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2196676 golden African snapper Fish of West Africa Marine fauna of Central Africa Marine fauna of West Africa golden African snapper Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes