Dog snapper
Photo Credit: © Diane Rome Peebles
Family Snappers
Scientific Family Lutjanidae
Scientific Name Lutjanus jocu
Spanish Name Jocú
ITIS# 168857
Tail shape Emarginate
Back and upper sides olive, with a bronze tint, sometimes with pale bars; reddish to coppery below; a pale triangle under eye; a blue line or series of blue spots below eye and across opercle. Juvenile: more strongly colored than adult, with a dark oblique stripe from snout through eye to top corner of operculum.
Biology
Adults common around rocky or coral reefs. Young found in estuaries and occasionally enters rivers. Feeds mainly on fishes and benthic invertebrates, including shrimps, crabs, gastropods (marine snails and slugs) and cephalopods (squids and relatives).
Appearance
Body Shape
Compressiform
Color
Main Color: Green-gray
Other Color: red
Other Color: red
Common Body Shape
Flattened side to side
Pattern
None
Length
Avg Length: 24 inches (60 cm)
Max Length: 51 inches (128 cm)
Max Length: 51 inches (128 cm)
Maximum Weight
62.9 lbs (28570 g)
Specifications
Handling Concerns
Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Conservation Concerns
Not enough information is known
Range in USA
MA-TX
Abundance
Uncommon