Species: Lutjanus cyanopterus, Cubera snapper
juv: stronger body bars
fins dark
A 7-8, end rounded
Lutjanus cyanopterus (Cuvier, 1828)
Cubera snapper
Body relatively slender, 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, very strong canines at front of top and bottom jaws; a triangular or crescent shaped patch of teeth without a rear extension on center of roof of mouth; sides of roof of mouth with 1 pair of tooth patches; 11-14 lower gill rakers; preopercle serrated, lower margin weakly notched; dorsal continuous, often with slight notch behind spiny part, usually X, 14; anal III, 8 (7-8), fin tip rounded; tail edge slightly concave; body, cheek and operculum scaly; snout, below eye and both jaws scale-less; lateral line scales 45-47; cheek with 9 (8-10) rows of scales; membranes of soft dorsal and anal fins scaly.
Back and upper sides grey, with reddish tinges, particularly at front; often 8-9 pale bars on upper half of body; dorsal and tail fins grey, anal and pelvics reddish. Juvenile: more prominently barred than adult.
Reaches 160 cm; 57 kg.
Juveniles inshore, around mangrove; adults in mangroves, reefs and rocky bottoms.
Depth range: 1-128 m, adults usually in < 40 m.
Nova Scotia to SE Brazil.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Brackish
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Mud
- Rocks
- Reef and soft bottom
- Corals
- Estuary
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Mangrove
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Data
- Bony fishes
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic larva
- Pelagic
- Global Endemism
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- West Atlantic Endemic
- All species.
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent + Island (s)
- Also in Brazil
- Extends North of GC
- GC non-endemic
- Extends South of GC
- Extends N + S of GC
- Island (s)
- All species..
- Continent
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Temperate (>35N)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Vulnerable
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 160
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 128
