One of the 2 snappers on WAnimals
Bony fish · Perciformes · Lutjanidae
Red Snapper
Lutjanus campechanus
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
Weight
12.5 kg on average
Size
up to 1 m
Lifespan
57 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Social structure
School
Gathers in coordinated schools, typical of fish.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- It can pass 50 years; the oldest individual aged was 57.
- It forms large shoals around wrecks and oil platforms, almost always of similarly sized fish.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)
- Habitat & environment
- Rocky bottoms, reefs, wrecks and artificial structures of the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic, between 10 and 190 m and usually between 30 and 130 m; the juveniles use shallow sand and mud bottoms
- Sexual maturity
- Length at first maturity 39.3 cm (range 25-47.5 cm), between 2 and 5 years old
Sources consulted: FishBase (Froese & Pauly, eds.); Lista Roja de la UICN (evaluación de 2015, VU A2bd)
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 15 de 20 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Red Snapper — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Grey Snapper
Lutjanus griseus
Atlantic Goliath Grouper
Epinephelus itajara
Blue Marlin
Makaira nigricans
VulnerableLemon Shark
Negaprion brevirostris
Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
VulnerableSilky Shark
Carcharhinus falciformis
How to help
The red snapper is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 10 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about red snapper.
Comments
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