''Lutjanus purpureus'', the southern red snapper or Caribbean red snapper, 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 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 ...

. 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 ...

as well 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 ...

Taxonomy

''Lutjanus purpureus'' was first formally described in 1867 as ''Mesoprion purpureus'' by the

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

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 ...

Felipe Poey, no type locality was given but it is most probably Cuba.It is not clear what species Poey was describing as he may have based his description on a painting with am ambiguous subject. It has been treated as a synonym of the

Northern red snapper 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 ...

(''Lutjanus campechanus''). The specific name ''purpureus'' means “purple”, reinforcing the ambiguity of Poey's description, as this is not a purple coloured fish. Past authors have referred to this species as ''Lutjanus aya'' but it has been shown that ''Bodianus aya'' Bloch, 1790 is not a snapper, but is more likely to be a

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

Description

''Lutjanus purpureus'' has a moderately deep, compressed body with a relatively short head which has a rounded dorsal profile. It has a short, rather blunt snout with two pairs of nostrils, both simple holes. It has a large eye and a weakly developed incision and knob on the serrated preoperculum. The vomerine teeth are arranged in a chevron or crescent shaped patch with a short rearwards extension. 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 ...

contains 10 spines and 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 ...

has 3 spines and 8-9 soft rays, the anal fin is pointed in individuals greater than . The long

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 ...

extends as far as the anus and has 17 rays. 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 ...

strongly

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 ...

with its upper lobe being slightly longer than the lower lobe. This species 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, and a maximum published weight of . The back and upper flanks are deep red while the lower flanks and abdomen are pinkish, sheened with silver. The fins are largely red and there may be a small dark spot on the upper base of the pectoral fin. Juveniles have with a round black spot on the upper flanks underneath the front of the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin, as the fish grows this fades and eventually disappears.

Distribution and habitat

''Lutjanus purpureus'' Is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. It occurs throughout much of the

from Cuba in the north southwards to northeastern Brazil. It is most numerous over the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

from Honduras to

the Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

. It is less abundant off the islands of the Greater and

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

where it is restricted to deeper water. This species is found in areas of rocky substrates at depths between , commonest at depths from . Juveniles prefer sand or mud substrates.

Biology

''Lutjanus purpureus'' is predatory, its diet mostly comprises fishes, shrimps, crabs, cephalopods and zooplankton.

Spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

ing takes place during the spring and summer. They have an estimated maximum lifespan of 12–18 years.

Fisheries

''Lutjanus purpureus'' is not of great importance to commercial fisheries despite being regarded as a good quality food fish. It is mainly caught using long lines, hand lines and bottom trawls, it is also taken with

gillnets Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is ...

. There have been reports of

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, vomi ...

poisoning in humans following consumption of this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1838758 purpureus Fish of the Caribbean Fish described in 1867