Snapper Family – Lutjanidae

There are currently TWENTY-THREE members of the Snapper or Lutjanidae Family, thirteen from the Atlantic Ocean and nine from the Pacific Ocean,  presented in this website:

FROM THE ATLANTIC (14):

FROM THE PACIFIC (9):

The fish of the Snapper or Lutjanidae Family has one hundred twenty-five members which have been placed in seventeen genera of which the Lutjanus Genus is the largest with sixty seven species. The majority of global snappers are found in the Indio Pacific; nine members of the Lutjanus genus reside in the Sea of Cortez. Twenty-six species are found in Mexican waters, sixteen in the Atlantic Ocean and ten in the Pacific Ocean. They are known in Mexico’s fishing areas as pargos.

The Snappers are a large family of small to medium-sized warm water fish with moderately compressed oval to elongated bodies and are prized as food. They have distinctive head profiles with long snouts that are below the eyes, rather small mouths opening in the front, and strong jaws armed with robust canine teeth. Snappers have anal fins with 3 spines and 7 to 11 soft rays; caudal fins that are straight to deeply forked; a single dorsal fin that is  have 10 spines and 8 to 18 rays which usually have a notch between the spines and soft parts. They are covered with rough, prominent scales.

Most snappers are shallow reef species and found at depths up to 90 m (300 feet), although juveniles inhabit mangrove estuaries and will enter fresh water streams. They are nighttime predators roaming the shorelines over a variety of bottom habitats and consume predominantly small fish and limited amounts of crab, shrimp, and crustaceans. They range in size from the very small Blue-and-Gold Snapper to the humongous Dog Snappers. They are preyed on by sharks and other snappers. They have a lifespan of up to twenty-one years.