Teleostei (teleosts) >
Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) >
Lutjanidae (Snappers) > Lutjaninae
Etymology: Lutjanus: Malay, ikan lutjan, name of a fish.
More on author: Poey.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 10 - 190 m (Ref. 55), usually 30 - 130 m (Ref. 55). Subtropical; 43°N - 4°S, 100°W - 40°W (Ref. 55228)
Western Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico and eastern coast of the USA extending northward to Massachusetts, coasts of Florida (Ref. 26938), but rare north of the Carolinas. Throughout Gulf of Mexico (Ref. 26938). This species has been referred to as Lutjanus aya by previous authors, but Rivas (Ref. 6409) proved that Bodianus aya Bloch, 1790 is not a lutjanid, but probably a sciaenid.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 39.3, range 25 - 47.5 cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26938); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 55); max. published weight: 22.8 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 57 years (Ref. 48779)
Dorsal spines (total): 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9. Scale rows on back rising obliquely above lateral line. Specimens under 30 to 35 cm with large dark spot on the upper sides, located below the anterior soft dorsal rays.
Adults are found over rocky bottoms. Juveniles inhabit shallow waters, common over sand or muddy bottoms. Feed mainly on fishes, shrimps, crabs, worms, cephalopods, and some planktonic items including urochordates and gastropods. Marketed fresh and eaten steamed, broiled and baked (Ref. 9988). Heavily exploited in American waters where it is now closely protected; shrimp fishing, accused of destroying young snappers, is currently restricted.
Allen, G.R., 1985. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 6. Snappers of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lutjanid species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(6):208 p. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 55)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30303)
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
Tools
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 19.7 - 27.5, mean 24.4 °C (based on 218 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01479 (0.01306 - 0.01675), b=2.97 (2.95 - 2.99), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.9 ±0.72 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 6.9 (6.1 - 7.8) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 19
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.12-0.2; tmax=16; Fec > 1 million).
Prior r = 0.48, 95% CL = 0.31 - 0.71, Based on 2 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): Moderate to high vulnerability (51 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 13.4 [7.2, 20.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.274 [0.163, 0.455] mg/100g; Protein = 19.2 [17.8, 20.6] %; Omega3 = 0.195 [0.122, 0.314] g/100g; Selenium = 42 [23, 74] μg/100g; VitaminA = 59 [11, 265] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.245 [0.180, 0.365] mg/100g (wet weight);
