Species: Lutjanus buccanella, Blackfin snapper
iris yellow
juv: grey, tail base & C yellow, pectoral base black
pectoral base: black blotch
Lutjanus buccanella (Cuvier, 1828)
Blackfin snapper
Body relatively deep, compressed; front and rear nostrils simple holes; mouth relatively large, top jaw moderately protrusible, slips under cheek bone for most of its length when mouth is closed; one or more rows of pointed conical teeth on jaws, some as canines; an anchor shaped patch of teeth with a rear extension on center of roof of mouth; sides of roof of mouth with 1 pair of tooth patches; 17-19 lower gill rakers; preopercle serrated, lower margin weakly notched; dorsal continuous, often with slight notch behind spiny part, usually X, 14; anal III, 8 (rarely 9), fin tip rounded; tail edge slightly concave; body, cheek and operculum scaly; snout, below eye and both jaws scale-less; lateral line scales 47-50; membranes of soft dorsal and anal fins scaly.
Upper head and body scarlet to orange; iris yellow to orange; a large pronounced dark spot on inner and outer base of pectoral; a dark area on scales at base of soft dorsal fin; upper tail base, most of soft dorsal, most of anal and all of tail fin yellow to greenish yellow. Juvenile: grey brown, with yellow tail base and tail fin; pectoral with black base.
Reaches 75 cm; 14 kg.
Sandy and rocky bottoms and near dropoffs.
Depth range: 15-273 m; juveniles usually 35-50 m, adults below 60 m.
N Carolina to NE Brazil.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef and soft bottom
- Corals
- Sand & gravel
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Rocks
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Bony fishes
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Sponges/seasquirts/bryozoa
- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- Transatlantic (East+West Atlantic)
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- All species.
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent + Island (s)
- All species..
- Island (s)
- Continent
- Also in Brazil
- Extends North of GC
- GC non-endemic
- Extends South of GC
- Extends N + S of GC
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 75
- Depth Range Min
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- 15
- Depth Range Max
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- 273
