The blue-and-gold snapper (''Lutjanus viridis'') is a
species of marine
ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the
family Lutjanidae. It is native to the eastern
Pacific Ocean where it is important to local subsistence fisheries.
Taxonomy
The blue and gold snapper was first formally
described in 1846 as ''Diacope viridis'' 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 Achille Valenciennes
Achille Valenciennes (9 August 1794 – 13 April 1865) was a French zoologist.
Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. His study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology. ...
with the
type locality given as the
Galápagos Islands.
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
''viridis'' means "green", Valenciennes described and illustrated this species with a greenish body marked with darker green stripes along the flanks although it is actually bright yellow with bluish-white, black-edged stripes.
Description
Blue-and-gold snapper has an oblong body. The pointed snout
has front and rear nostrils which are simple holes. It has a relatively large mouth which has protractile jaws. The teeth are conical to canine like in shape, with the front teeth typically enlarged so that they resemble fangs. The
vomerine teeth are arranged in a V-shape with no rearwards extension and there is a patch of teeth at each side of the palate,
but there are no teeth on the tongue. 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
...
has a weakly developed incision and knob.
The
dorsal fin is continuous,
[ containing 10 spines and 14-15 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 soft rays,[ the rear of the dorsal and anal fins may be rounded or pointed. The pectoral fins contain 16-17 rays and the caudal fin is truncate or weakly ]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 regula ...
.[ This species attains a maximum total length of .][ The overall colour of this fish is bright yellow on the body, although this can be dark, with five black-margined blue stripes along the flanks. The abdomen is paler and is marked with many thin orange to yellow lines. They frequently show a reddish face.]
Distribution and habitat
The blue and gold snapper is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean where it has a rather discontinuous distribution. It occurs at the mouth of the Gulf of California and southern Baja California, and along the western coast of Mexico, from southern Guatemala to Panama and Colombia. It also occurs at the Revillagigedo Islands of Mexico, Clipperton Island, Cocos Island of Costa Rica, Malpelo Island of Columbia and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.[
]
Biology
The blue and gold snapper occasionally gathers in large daytime aggregations on rocky or coral reefs. In Panama's Gulf of Chriqui this species is restricted to areas where there are madreporite branching corals.[
]
Fisheries
The blue and gold snapper is an important target species for subsistence fisheries, they catch it with hooks and lines.[
]
References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q2312288
Lutjanus
Fish described in 1846