Common Name
Mutton Snapper
Year Described
Cuvier, 1828
Identification
Dorsal Fin: X-XI (usually X), 13-14 (usually 14)
Anal Fin: III, 7-8 (usually 8)
Pectoral Fin: 15-17
Gill Rakers: 6-8 upper, 12-13 lower; 18-21 total
Lateral Line Scales: 47-51
Body relatively deep and moderately compressed. Upper and lower jaws with a row of conical teeth. Anterior upper jaw teeth enlarged. Vomerine teeth in a chevron-shaped patch without a median extension. Palatine teeth an elongate band. Ectopterygoid teeth absent. Soft dorsal and anal fins with scales on membranes. Maxilla scaleless. No distinct notch between spiny and soft dorsal fins. Last dorsal ray not elongated. Soft dorsal fin pointed. Anal fin angular and pointed. Caudal fin lunate or slightly forked.
Color
Body olive dorsally, grading to whitish on the belly. A copper to reddish tinge is often present. Eye reddish. A small dark blotch above lateral line under soft dorsal fin (varies in intensity). Blue lines present on head around and under eye. Sometimes displays thin pale vertical bars on the dorsum. Fins reddish.
Size
Maximum size to 80cm TL. Commonly to 50cm TL.
Habitat
Coastal waters over sandy bottoms and around coral reefs. Usually solitary.
Range
New England to SE Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Vagrants to Bermuda.
References
Anderson, W.D. 2002. Lutjanidae (pp. 1479-1504). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO of the U.N., Rome.