Description: Body wide and relatively thick with a sloping forehead and a large round eye and large terminal mouth. Dorsal-fin base long and anal-fin base short. Prominent dorsal, anal, and pelvic-fin spines and a large non-serrated preopercular spine.
Diagnosis: Modal fin-ray counts of D-X,12 A-III,8 indicate Lutjanus synagris or L. mahogoni. Juveniles with the lateral line running through the lower third of the lateral spot indicate L. synagris. (DNA)
Pretransitional mostly unmarked stage, usually from 13-19 mm SL: Body: Pretransitional larvae develop a row of melanophores on the body near the base of the dorsal fin, first along the pterygiophores supporting the soft dorsal fin (starting between the second and sixth rays) and then extending below the spinous portion as a few spots between the seventh and eighth spines and the ninth and tenth spines. As development continues, the row of melanophores below the dorsal fin fills in and extends forward to the level of the third spine (the base of the last three soft rays remain unmarked well into transition). On the caudal peduncle, melanophores line the dorsal and ventral midlines and, at the lateral midline, there is a row of deep melanophores along with a few scattered surface melanophores. One or two discrete internal melanophores lie well below the pterygiophores of the last few anal-fin rays. Head: Melanophores on the head consist of dense patches overlying the brain and on the surface braincase. There are small melanophores around the tips of the upper and lower jaws. The opercular area is covered in iridescence extending down to the pelvic-fin insertion. The inner cleithral surface of the gill cavity is speckled with large melanophores and there are internal melanophores lining the dorsal aspect of the swim bladder and peritoneum extending down to the vent and overlain by a silvery camouflage layer. Fin Spines: The dorsal and anal-fin spines are relatively stout, usually with some internal reticulations. The anal-fin spines do not show anterior serrations. The second dorsal-fin spine is shorter than the third. Fins: Small melanophores speckle the distal two-thirds of the dorsal-fin-spine membranes. On the caudal fin there is a vertical line of melanophores at the base of some of the upper as well as most of the lower segmented rays. A row of melanophores develops along the anal-fin base, one at the base of each soft fin ray. Pretransitional analogues: Pretransitional larvae of the two 12-dorsal-rayed snappers are best distinguished by the relative lengths of the second and third dorsal-fin spines: in L. synagris the second dorsal-fin spine is shorter than the third spine vs. longer (pretransitional larvae) to about equal (late in transition) to the third spine in L. mahogoni. The two 12-dorsal-rayed snappers can be separated from the 14-dorsal-rayed snappers by the dorsal-fin-ray count, as well as having melanophores at the bases of the upper as well as the lower caudal-fin segmented rays at this early stage (sometimes shared by L. analis). The dorsal and anal-fin spines of larval L. speciessynagris are also stouter than in L. analis, L. cyanopterus, and Ocyurus chrysurus. L. synagris larvae at this stage also do not have distinct anterior serrations persisting on the anal-fin spines as do L. griseus, L. apodus and L. jocu (occasional individuals do have a few remnant serrations). Almost all pretransitional L. synagris captured over the reef already show the lateral spot, unlike L. analis and the barred species.
Transitional stage: Transitional L. synagris larvae develop a prominent lateral spot early, usually with the lateral line running through the lower third of the spot. Iridescent bars form at each side of the lateral spot, bracketing the black spot up to the base of the dorsal fin. The dark bar anterior to the spot curves away, forming a bracket. An additional set of thin iridescent stripes develops along the lower side alternating with thin stripes of melanophores (in life the pale stripes are yellow). Transitional analogues: The main difference between the two 12-rayed species is that the second dorsal-fin spine is shorter than the third in L. synagris vs. longer or equal in L. mahogoni (and L. analis). The location of the lateral spot usually differs, although some individuals do overlap: the lateral line usually runs through the lower third of the spot in L. synagris and through the middle of the spot in L. mahogoni. A consistent difference is that on L. synagris the bar forward of the lateral spot is not straight; it clearly curves away and brackets the spot, while in L. mahogoni (and L. analis) the bar slopes evenly down from the base of the dorsal fin across the body. Transitional larvae of L. synagris always have a lateral spot, then they subsequently develop bars (vs. bars, then a spot on L. analis). Some transitional L. analis with a lateral spot can look remarkably similar to L. synagris, however in the latter the spot is large and expands the bar, vs. staying within the bar in L. analis. Furthermore, transitional L. analis have three more distinct bars on the body behind the lateral spot while these bars are usually undeveloped on transitional L. synagris. On new recruits, the iridescent stripes (note, not the bars) along the lower side of the body characteristic of L. synagris are absent in L. analis.
Juveniles: Juvenile L. synagris have a lateral spot with the lateral line running through the lower third of the spot (or sometimes below the spot) and about six to eight thick yellow stripes below the lateral line in the bar anterior to the spot. Juvenile analogues: For juveniles less than 25 mm SL the relative dorsal-spine-length characters separate juvenile L. synagris from L. mahogoni and L. analis. They all have yellow stripes as juveniles, although the stripes become thick and more prominent on later juvenile L. synagris and thinner and less conspicuous on juvenile L. mahogoni. Furthermore, in juvenile L. mahogoni the lateral spot is often elongated (in width) and the lateral line runs through the middle of the spot vs. a rounded or vertically elongated spot with the lateral line running through the lower third (or below the spot) in L. synagris. One of the more reliable methods to distinguish L. synagris from L. analis as larger juveniles is the number of yellow stripes below the lateral line in the bar anterior to the spot: in L. analis the stripes tend to bifurcate into paired thin stripes, from 9-12, while in L. synagris the stripes remain thick and number 6-8. As they get larger, L. analis develop a pointed outline to the anal fin while L. synagris retains a rounded outline.
MZUSP 65242 (1, 205), same locality as MZUSP 65240.
The lane snapper (Lutjanus synagris), the Mexican snapper, redtail snapper or spot snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean.
The lane snapper was first formally described in 1758 as Sparus synagris by Carolus Linnaeus in the 10th edition of the Systema Naturae with the type locality given as America septentrionali, i.e. the Bahamas.[3] The specific name synagris is an Ancient Greek name for the common dentex (Dentex dentex) which the lane snapper was thought to be similar to.[4]
The lane snapper has an oblong, compressed body.[5] It has a sharply pointed snout,[6] With a pair of front and a pair of rear nostrils which are simple holes, it has a relatively large mouth with a moderately protrusible upper jaw which has most of its length below the cheek bone when the mouth is shut., Each jaw has one or more rows of sharp, conical teeth with a few of these being enlarged to form canines. The vomerine teeth are arranged in an anchor shaped patch of teeth with a short rearwards extension along the middle of the palate and there is a pair of tooth patches ar either side of the palate. The preopercle is serrated,[5] and has a weakly developed incision and knob.[6] It has a continuous dorsal fin[5] which has 10 spines and 12-13 soft rays,[2] with a slight incision sometimes visible between the spines and soft rays,[5] the anal fin has 3 spines and 8-9 soft rays.[2] It has relatively short pectoral fins which do not extend as far as the anus and contain 15-16 fin rays. The caudal fin is emarginate.[6] This fish attains a maximum total length of 60 cm (24 in), although 25 cm (9.8 in) is more typical, and the maximum published weight is 3.5 kg (7.7 lb).[2] This species has two colour phases, a deep-water phase which is darker and more distinctive than the colour of the shallow-water resting phase. In both phases the upper flanks and the back are pink to red with a green tint on the back. The lower flanks and abdomen are silver with a yellow hue. There are 3-4 yellow stripes on the head which extend from the snout to the eye, The flanks are marked with 8-10 yellow to pink longitudinal stripes, with a further 3-4 underneath the front dorsal fin ray. They have an indistinct black spot underneath the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin. The fins are may be yellow to red.[7]
The lane snapper is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean where it occurs as far north as North Carolina and Bermuda south through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, along the coast of South America as far south as Santa Catarina, Brazil.[1] It occurs over reefs and sandy bottoms with algae or sea grass at depths between 30 and 122 m (98 and 400 ft).[8] The juveniles live in sheltered inshore waters.[7]
Lane snapper are sedentary, staying in a home range, after they have become adult except when spawning.
Lane snappers are opportunistic, nocturnal predators feeding on a diverse range of animals. Known prey includes smaller fishes, cephalopods, gastropods, and crustaceans such as shrimps and crabs.[7]
Lane snapper form spawning aggregations, off Cuba these aggregations are found from March until September, peaking in activity in July and August. Off Puerto Rico spawning reaches its zenith in May. They are broadcast spawners, the fertilised eggs drift on the currents and hatch after 23 hours. The larvae are little known but settle at a length of about 1 cm (0.39 in).[7]
The lane snapper is preyed upon by larger fishes and sharks.[8]
The lane snapper is prized for its tasty, white meat, which is sold in supermarkets throughout Mexico. Lane snapper are more typically caught in shallower waters than many other snappers, most commonly yellowtail snapper and gray snapper. Larger specimens can be found in somewhat deeper waters, but are typically less plentiful.[8] The consumption of its flesh has been known to result in cases of ciguatera poisoning.[7]
Lane snapper are caught with beach seines, boat seines, traps, handlines, and bottom trawls. Shrimp fisheries take for a large portion of the total catch of this snapper, due to the juveniles preference for soft bottom s with high populations of shrimps.[7]
The lane snapper stocks have shown steep declines as a result of overfishing in much of its range. For this reason the IUCN have assessed this species as Near Threatened.[1]
The lane snapper (Lutjanus synagris), the Mexican snapper, redtail snapper or spot snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean.
