The lane snapper (''Lutjanus synagris''), the Mexican snapper, redtail snapper or spot 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 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 ...

Taxonomy

The lane snapper was first formally described in 1758 as ''Sparus synagris'' by

Carolus 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, th ...

in the 10th edition of the '' Systema Naturae'' with the type locality given as ''America septentrionali,'' i.e. the Bahamas. The specific name ''synagris'' is an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

name for the

common dentex The common dentex (''Dentex dentex'') is a species of fish in the family Sparidae. Etymology Genus and species Latin name ''Dentex'' is related to ''dentēs'' which means "teeth". Description Adult dentex can reach a length of , and weight ...

(''Dentex dentex'') which the lane snapper was thought to be similar to.

Description

The lane snapper has an oblong, compressed body. It has a sharply pointed snout, With a pair of front and a pair of rear nostrils which are simple holes, it has a relatively large mouth with a moderately protrusible upper jaw which has most of its length below the cheek bone when the mouth is shut., Each jaw has one or more rows of sharp, conical teeth with a few of these being enlarged to form canines. The vomerine teeth are arranged in an anchor shaped patch of teeth with a short rearwards extension along the middle of the palate and there is a pair of tooth patches ar either side of the palate. The preopercle is serrated, and has a weakly developed incision and knob. It has a continuous

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 ...

which has 10 spines and 12-13 soft rays, with a slight incision sometimes visible between the spines and soft rays, the anal fin has 3 spines and 8-9 soft rays. It has relatively short

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 which do not extend as far as the anus and contain 15-16 fin 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 ...

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, and the maximum published weight is . This species has two

colour phase In biology, polymorphism is the occurrence of two or more clearly different morphs or forms, also referred to as alternative ''phenotypes'', in the population of a species. To be classified as such, morphs must occupy the same habitat at the s ...

s, a deep-water phase which is darker and more distinctive than the colour of the shallow-water resting phase. In both phases the upper flanks and the back are pink to red with a green tint on the back. The lower flanks and abdomen are silver with a yellow hue. There are 3-4 yellow stripes on the head which extend from the snout to the eye, The flanks are marked with 8-10 yellow to pink longitudinal stripes, with a further 3-4 underneath the front dorsal fin ray. They have an indistinct black spot underneath the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin. The fins are may be yellow to red.

Distribution and habitat

The lane snapper is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean where it occurs as far north as

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 ...

and

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 ...

south through 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 ...

and 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 coast of South America as far south as

Santa Catarina, Brazil Santa Catarina (, ) is a state in the South Region of Brazil. It is the 7th smallest state in total area and the 11th most populous. Additionally, it is the 9th largest settlement, with 295 municipalities. The state, with 3.4% of the Brazili ...

. It occurs over reefs and sandy bottoms with algae or sea grass at depths between . The juveniles live in sheltered inshore waters.

Biology

Lane snapper are sedentary, staying in a home range, after they have become adult except when

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 ...

Feeding

Lane snappers are opportunistic, nocturnal predators feeding on a diverse range of animals. Known prey includes smaller fishes, cephalopods,

gastropods The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. The ...

, and crustaceans such as shrimps and

crabs Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

Reproduction

Lane snapper form spawning aggregations, off Cuba these aggregations are found from March until September, peaking in activity in July and August. Off Puerto Rico spawning reaches its zenith in May. They are broadcast spawners, the fertilised eggs drift on the currents and hatch after 23 hours. The larvae are little known but settle at a length of about .

Predators

The lane snapper is preyed upon by larger fishes and sharks.

Fisheries and conservation

The lane snapper is prized for its tasty, white meat, which is sold in supermarkets throughout Mexico. Lane snapper are more typically caught in shallower waters than many other snappers, most commonly yellowtail snapper and gray snapper. Larger specimens can be found in somewhat deeper waters, but are typically less plentiful. The consumption of its flesh has been known to result in cases of ciguatera poisoning. Lane snapper are caught with beach seines, boat seines, traps, handlines, and bottom trawls. Shrimp fisheries take for a large portion of the total catch of this snapper, due to the juveniles preference for soft bottom s with high populations of shrimps. The lane snapper stocks have shown steep declines as a result of overfishing in much of its range. For this reason the IUCN have assessed this species as

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3233228

lane snapper 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 ...

Fish of the Caribbean

Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus