Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system

Español  Contact

Species: Lutjanus campechanus, Northern Red Snapper, Red Snapper

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

red body & fins
iris red
juv: dark spot under soft D
D 14
roof mouth tooth patch: anchor shaped
gill rakers 6-8 + 14-16
A 9, end pointed
scales: above LL 8-9, below LL 16-17, on LL 47-48

Lutjanus campechanus (Poey, 1860)

Red Snapper, Northern Red 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; 6-8 + 14-16 gill rakers; preopercle serrated, lower margin weakly notched; dorsal continuous, often with slight notch behind spiny part, usually X, 14, (rarely 13 or 15); anal III, 9 (rarely 8), fin tip bluntly pointed in fish >5 cm SL; tail edge slightly concave; body, cheek and operculum scaly; snout, below eye and both jaws scale-less; lateral line scales 47-48 (46-51); scales above lateral line 8-9 (7-10), 16-17 (15-19) below lateral line; lateral scales 47-49 (46-50); membranes of soft dorsal and anal fins scaly.

Back and upper sides scarlet to brick red, pink in shallow water; sides and belly rosy; iris red; fins mostly red, with dark edges. Juvenile: fish < ~30 cm with a dark spot below front part of soft dorsal fin.

Reaches 100 cm; 22.8 kg.

Juveniles on sand and mud bottoms, adults on rocky bottoms.

Depth range: 10-190 m, adults usually 30-130 m.

Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico; the Bahamas; possibly to Brazil.

Note: The taxonomic status of L. purpureus is not fully clarified, and it may be a synonym of L. campechanus.


High Resolution Map Download

Species Data Create Report Export as Word File Export as Excel File
Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Rocks
  • Sand & gravel
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Corals
  • Mud
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Reef and soft bottom
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
FishBase Habitat
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
  • Planktivore
Diet
  • Data
  • Zooplankton
  • Bony fishes
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
  • Mobile benthic worms
  • Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Continent
  • Continent + Island (s)
  • Extends North of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • Island (s)
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
  • Temperate (>35N)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Listed
  • Vulnerable
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 100
Depth Range Min
  • 10
Depth Range Max
  • 190