Silk snapper

Silk snapper
Photo Credit: © Diane Rome Peebles
Family Snappers
Scientific Family Lutjanidae
Scientific Name Lutjanus vivanus
Spanish Name Pargo del alto
ITIS# 168861
Tail shape Emarginate

Back and upper sides pink to red, grading to pink with a silvery sheen ventrally; sides with very fine undulating yellow lines; the fins mostly reddish or pale yellow. Young specimens (under about 25 cm) with a blackish spot on upper side below anterior dorsal soft rays.


Biology

Adults are common near the edge of the continental and island shelves; also found in deeper waters (below 600 feet (200 m)); usually rising to shallow water at night. They feed mainly on fishes, shrimps, crabs, gastropods (marine snails and slugs), cephalopods (squid relatives), tunicates (sea squirts) and some open ocean larvae.

Appearance

Body Shape
Compressiform
Color
Main Color: Red-white
Other Color: yellow
Common Body Shape
Flattened side to side


Pattern
None
Length
Avg Length: 18 inches (45 cm)
Max Length: 33 inches (83 cm)
Maximum Weight
18.3 lbs (8320 g)




Specifications

Handling Concerns
Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Conservation Concerns
None
Range in USA
NC-TX


Abundance
Less Common


Other Species from same Family