''Lutjanus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

, snappers 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 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 ...

. They are found in the

Atlantic 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 an ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

s. They are

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

fish usually found in tropical and subtropical

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

s, and

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

forests. This genus also includes two

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 ...

that only occur in

fresh Fresh or FRESH may refer to: People *DJ Fresh (born 1977), UK-based drum and bass artist *DJ Fresh (producer), US-based R&B producer born Marqus Brown Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime film * ''Fresh'' (200 ...

and

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

Taxonomy

''Lutjanus'' was created in 1790 by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

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, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Marcus Elieser Bloch with ''Lutjanus lutjanus'' as its

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

tautonymy A tautonym is a scientific name of a species in which both parts of the name have the same spelling, such as ''Rattus rattus''. The first part of the name is the name of the genus and the second part is referred to as the ''specific epithet'' in ...

. It is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

of the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Lutjaninae and the family Lutjanidae. The name is derived from a local Indonesian name for snappers, ''ikhan Lutjang''. Bloch erroneously stated that the type locality for ''L. lutjanus'' was Japan when the name he gave it suggested that it was collected in the East Indies. A taxonomic study of snappers within the subfamily Lutjaninae in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean indicated that the at

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genera ''Ocyurus'' and ''Rhomboplites'' sit within the genus ''Lutjanus''. ''Lutjanus ambiguus'' is considered by some authorities to most likely to be a hybrid between ''L. synagris'' and ''

Ocyurus chrysurus The yellowtail snapper (''Ocyurus chrysurus'') is an abundant species of snapper native to the western Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Although they have been found as far north as Massachusetts, their normal r ...

'', supporting the close relation between the two genera.

Species

Ehrenberg's Snapper, Lutjanus ehrenbergi at Gota Kebir, St John's reefs, Red Sea, Egypt -SCUBA (6325516977)

Onespot Snapper, Lutjanus monostigma, at Gota Abu Ramada, Red Sea, Egypt -SCUBA (6175909958)

Currently, 73 recognized species are placed in this genus: * '' Lutjanus adetii'' ( Castelnau, 1873) (yellow-banded snapper) * '' Lutjanus agennes''

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Lutjanus alexandrei'' R. L. Moura &

Lindeman Lindeman is a German, Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish surname. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 58.8% of all known bearers of the surname ''Lindeman'' were residents of the United States (frequency 1:55,620), 16.5% of the Netherlands (1:9,286), 7 ...

, 2007 (Brazilian snapper) * '' Lutjanus ambiguus'' ( Poey, 1860) (ambiguous snapper) * ''

Lutjanus analis The mutton snapper (''Lutjanus analis'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Taxonomy The mutton snapper was first formally described in 1828 by the ...

'' (Cuvier, 1828) (mutton snapper) * '' Lutjanus apodus'' (

Walbaum Walbaum is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Johann Julius Walbaum (1724–1799), German physician, naturalist and taxonomist * Johannes Walbaum (born 1987), German footballer * Justus Erich Walbaum (1768-1837), German typ ...

, 1792) (schoolmaster snapper) * '' Lutjanus aratus'' ( Günther, 1864) (mullet snapper) * ''

Lutjanus argentimaculatus The mangrove red snapper (''Lutjanus argentimaculatus''), also known as mangrove jack, grey snapper, creek red bream, Stuart evader, dog bream, purple sea perch, red bream, red perch, red reef bream, river roman, or rock barramundi, is a species ...

'' ( Forsskål, 1775) (mangrove red snapper) * ''

Lutjanus argentiventris ''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 fore ...

'' ( W. K. H. Peters, 1869) (yellow snapper) * '' Lutjanus bengalensis'' (Bloch, 1790) (Bengal snapper) * ''

Lutjanus biguttatus ''Lutjanus biguttatus'', the two-spot banded snapper or two-spot snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family (biology), family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans. Tax ...

'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 1830) (two-spot banded snapper) * ''

Lutjanus bitaeniatus ''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 fore ...

'' (Valenciennes, 1830) (Indonesian snapper) * '' Lutjanus bohar'' (Forsskål, 1775) (two-spot red snapper) * '' Lutjanus boutton'' (

Lacépède Lacepede can refer to: * Bernard Germain de Lacépède (1756–1825), French naturalist and politician. * Lacepede Bay, a bay in South Australia. * Lacépède, Lot-et-Garonne, a ''commune'' in France * Lacepede Islands, a group of four islands in t ...

, 1802) (Moluccan snapper) * ''

Lutjanus buccanella 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 ...

'' (Cuvier, 1828) (blackfin snapper) * ''

Lutjanus campechanus The northern red snapper (''Lutjanus campechanus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico, where it inhabits e ...

'' (Poey, 1860) (northern red snapper) * '' Lutjanus carponotatus'' ( J. Richardson, 1842) (Spanish flag snapper) * '' Lutjanus coeruleolineatus'' ( Rüppell, 1838) (blue-line snapper) * '' Lutjanus colorado'' D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1882 (Colorado snapper) * ''

Lutjanus cyanopterus The cubera snapper (''Lutjanus cyanopterus''), also known as the Cuban snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean. It is a commercially important spe ...

'' (Cuvier, 1828) (cubera snapper) * '' Lutjanus decussatus'' (Cuvier, 1828) (checkered snapper) * '' Lutjanus dentatus'' ( A. H. A. Duméril, 1861) (African brown snapper) * '' Lutjanus dodecacanthoides'' (Bleeker, 1854) (sunbeam snapper) * '' Lutjanus ehrenbergii'' (W. K. H. Peters, 1869) (black-spot snapper) * '' Lutjanus endecacanthus'' Bleeker, 1863 (Guinea snapper) * ''

Lutjanus erythropterus ''Lutjanus erythropterus'', the crimson snapper, crimson seaperch, high-brow sea-perch, Longman's sea perch, red bream, saddle-tailed perch, small-mouth nannygai or smallmouth sea perch is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging ...

'' Bloch, 1790 (crimson snapper) * '' Lutjanus fulgens'' (Valenciennes, 1830) (golden African snapper) * '' Lutjanus fulviflamma'' (Forsskål, 1775) (dory snapper) * '' Lutjanus fulvus'' ( J. R. Forster, 1801) (black-tail snapper) * ''

Lutjanus fuscescens ''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 fore ...

'' (Valenciennes, 1830) (freshwater snapper) * ''

Lutjanus gibbus The humpback red snapper (''Lutjanus gibbus''), the paddletail, paddletail snapper or hunchback snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It has a wide Indo-West Pacific distribution. It is a ...

'' (Forsskål, 1775) (humpback red snapper) * ''

Lutjanus goldiei ''Lutjanus goldie''i, the Papuan black snapper, Papuan black bass, New Guinea bass or Niugini black bass , is a species of freshwater and brackish water ray-finned fish, a snapper in the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean ...

'' ( W. J. Macleay, 1882) (Papuan black snapper) * '' Lutjanus goreensis'' (Valenciennes, 1830) (Gorean snapper) * '' Lutjanus griseus'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

) (grey snapper) * '' Lutjanus guilcheri'' Fourmanoir, 1959 (yellow-fin red snapper) * ''

Lutjanus guttatus ''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 fore ...

'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner describ ...

, 1869) (spotted rose snapper) * ''

Lutjanus indicus ''Lutjanus indicus'', the striped snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean. Taxonomy ''Lutjanus indicus'' was first formally described in 2013 by Gerald R. A ...

'' G. R. Allen,

W. T. White W. may refer to: * SoHo (Australian TV channel) (previously W.), an Australian pay television channel * ''W.'' (film), a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of George W. Bush * "W.", the fifth track from Codeine's 1992 EP ''Bar ...

Erdmann Erdmann is a first name and surname, and may refer to: Surname *Carl Erdmann (1898—1945), German historian *Eduard Erdmann (1896—1958), Baltic German pianist and composer *Hans Otto Erdmann (1896–1944), member of the German resistance *Hugo E ...

, 2013 * '' Lutjanus inermis'' (W. K. H. Peters, 1869) (golden snapper) * '' Lutjanus jocu'' (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (dog snapper) * '' Lutjanus johnii'' (Bloch, 1792) (John's snapper) * ''

Lutjanus jordani ''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 fore ...

'' (C. H. Gilbert, 1898) (Jordan's snapper) * '' Lutjanus kasmira'' (Forsskål, 1775) (common blue-striped snapper) * ''

Lutjanus lemniscatus ''Lutjanus lemniscatus'', the yellowstreaked snapper, darktail snapper, darktail seaperch or maroon sea-perch is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the Family (biology), family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Pac ...

'' (Valenciennes, 1828) (yellow-streaked snapper) * '' Lutjanus lunulatus'' ( M. Park, 1797) (lunar-tail snapper) * ''

Lutjanus lutjanus The bigeye snapper (''Lutjanus lutjanus''), also known as the bigeye seaperch, red sea lined snapper, golden striped snapper, rosy snapper, yellow snapper, or simply snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the fam ...

'' Bloch, 1790 (big-eye snapper) * '' Lutjanus madras'' (Valenciennes, 1831) (Indian snapper) * '' Lutjanus mahogoni'' (Cuvier, 1828) (mahogany snapper) * ''

Lutjanus malabaricus ''Lutjanus malabaricus'', the Malabar blood snapper, saddletail snapper, large-mouthed nannygai, large-mouthed sea-perch, Malabar snapper, nannygai, red bass, red bream, red emperor, red Jew, red snapper, saddletail seaperch, scarlet emperor or s ...

'' (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Malabar blood snapper) * '' Lutjanus maxweberi'' Popta, 1921 (pygmy snapper) * '' Lutjanus mizenkoi'' G. R. Allen &

Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...

, 1985 (Samoan snapper) * '' Lutjanus monostigma'' (Cuvier, 1828) (one-spot snapper) * ''

Lutjanus notatus The bluestriped snapper (''Lutjanus notatus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the Family (biology), family Lutjanidae. It is found in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Taxonomy The bluestriped snapper was first form ...

'' (Cuvier, 1828) (blue-striped snapper) * ''

Lutjanus novemfasciatus ''Lutjanus novemfasciatus'', the Pacific dog snapper or Pacific cubera snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Lutjanus novemfasciatus'' ...

'' T. N. Gill, 1862 (Pacific dog snapper or Pacific cubera snapper * '' Lutjanus octolineatus'' (Cuvier, 1828) (white-belly snapper) * '' Lutjanus ophuysenii'' (Bleeker, 1860) (spot-stripe snapper) * '' Lutjanus papuensis'' G. R. Allen, W. T. White & Erdmann, 2013 (Papuan snapper) * '' Lutjanus peru'' (

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& R. C. Murphy, 1922) (Pacific red snapper) * ''

Lutjanus purpureus ''Lutjanus purpureus'', the southern red snapper or Caribbean red snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean as well the Caribbean Sea. Taxonomy ''Lut ...

'' (Poey, 1866) (southern red snapper) * '' Lutjanus quinquelineatus'' (Bloch, 1790) (five-lined snapper) * '' Lutjanus rivulatus'' (Cuvier, 1828) (blubber-lip snapper) * '' Lutjanus rufolineatus'' (Valenciennes, 1830) (yellow-lined snapper) * '' Lutjanus russellii'' (Bleeker, 1849) (Russell's snapper) * '' Lutjanus sanguineus'' (Cuvier, 1828) (humphead snapper or scarlet snapper) * ''

Lutjanus sapphirolineatus ''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 fore ...

'' Iwatsuki, Al-Mamry & Heemstra, 2016 (Arabian blue-striped snapper)Iwatsuki, Y., Al-Mamry, J.M. & Heemstra, P.C. (2016): Validity of a blue stripe snapper, ''Lutjanus octolineatus'' (

Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

1828) and a related species, ''L. bengalensis'' (Bloch 1790) with a new species (Pisces; Lutjanidae) from the Arabian Sea. ''Zootaxa, 4098 (3): 511–528.'' * ''

Lutjanus sebae ''Lutjanus sebae'', also known as red emperor, emperor red snapper, emperor snapper, government bream, king snapper, queenfish or red kelp, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the ...

'' (Cuvier, 1816) (emperor red snapper) * '' Lutjanus semicinctus'' Quoy &

Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequent ...

, 1824 (black-banded snapper) * '' Lutjanus stellatus'' Akazaki, 1983 (star snapper) * ''

Lutjanus synagris The lane snapper (''Lutjanus synagris''), the Mexican snapper, redtail snapper or spot snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean. Taxonomy The lane s ...

'' (Linnaeus,

) (Lane snapper) * '' Lutjanus timorensis'' (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) (Timor snapper) * '' Lutjanus viridis'' (Valenciennes, 1846) (blue and gold snapper) * '' Lutjanus vitta'' (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) (brown-stripe red snapper) * '' Lutjanus vivanus'' (Cuvier, 1828) (silk snapper) * ''

Lutjanus xanthopinnis ''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 fore ...

'' Iwatsuki, F. Tanaka & G. R. Allen, 2015 (yellow-fin snapper)

Characteristics

''Lutjanus'' snappers are small to large in size with oblong shaped bodies which vary from deep to slender and

fusiform Fusiform means having a spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the lemon-shape, but often implies a focal broadening of a structure that continues from one or both ends, such as an aneurysm on a b ...

in form. They have relatively large mouths which is protractable. The teeth are arranged in one or more rows in the jaws and are pointed and conical in shape with the outer row consisting of canine-like teeth with the anterior ones enlarged into more obvious canine-like fangs. The vomerine teeth are arranged in patches which may be chevron, triangular or lunate and may or may bot have a posterior extension, or be arranged in a rhombus. The space between the eyes is convex and they have a aserrated preopercle which has a deep incision on its lower margin. They sometimes jhave a bony knob between the operculum and the preopercle which is most obvious in those species which have a deep incision in the preopercle. They have a continuous dorsal fin, frequently having a slight incision between the spiny portion and the soft-rayed portion. The spiny part of the dorsal fin may have 10 or 11 spines while the soft rayed part may have 11 to 16 rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and between 7 and 10 soft rays while the pectoral fins have between 15 and 18 soft rays. The dorsal and anal fins are scaled while the caudal fin may be emarginate, truncate or, rarely, forked. These snappers are extremely variable in colour frequently having a background colour of reddish, yellow, grey, or brown overlain with a pattern of darker stripes or bars. They are often marked with a large blackish spot on upper flanks underneath the front soft rays of the dorsal fin.

Distribution and habitat

''Lutjanus'' snappers have a circumtropical and subtropical distribution and are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The

mangrove red snapper The mangrove red snapper (''Lutjanus argentimaculatus''), also known as mangrove jack, grey snapper, creek red bream, Stuart evader, dog bream, purple sea perch, red bream, red perch, red reef bream, river roman, or rock barramundi, is a species ...

(''Lutjanus argentimaculatus''), and the dory snapper (''Lutjanus fulviflamma'') have been recorded in the Mediterranean as possible Lessepsian migrants having entered that sea through the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

from the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

while the

dog snapper The dog snapper (''Lutjanus jocu''), also known as the dogtooth snapper, pargue or snuggletooth snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commercial ...

(''Lutjanus jocu''), a western Atlantic species, has been recorded in the

Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient L ...

. Many species are associated with coral reefs where they are conspicuous members of the fish fauna, while some of the larger red snapper species descend into deeper waters, at least to in depth. 2 species, ''L. fuscescens'' and ''L. maxweberi'', only occur in

and

Biology

Smaller ''Lutjanus'' species are often observed in large, diurnal aggregations which stay near the reef, these disperse at night to feed. Their diet is largely made up of fishes and crustaceans. Group

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 aquati ...

has been obserbed in at least one species. Courtship is initiated by the males who peck and rub themselves on the females' body and when other individuals are attracted to the initial pair they all spiral towards the surface, releasing the

milt Milt is the seminal fluid of fish, mollusks, and certain other water-dwelling animals which reproduce by spraying this fluid, which contains the sperm, onto roe (fish eggs). It can also refer to the sperm sacs or testes that contain the semen. ...

and eggs just underneath the surface. The eggs are minute and spherical in shape and take 18 hours or so to hatch into larvae.

Fisheries

''Lutjanus'' is a genus which contains many species, especially the larger ones, which are important commercial fish and which are considered to be excellent food fish in the tropics. The catch is taken using a variety of methods including handlines, traps, spears, nets and trawling gear. They are mainly sold as fresh fish but may be preserved by freezing or dry-salted.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q139141 Lutjaninae Ray-finned fish genera