The queen snapper (''Etelis oculatus''), also known as the night snapper or brim snapper, is a species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

, a snapper belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Lutjanidae Lutjanidae or snappers are a family of perciform fishes, mainly marine but with some members inhabiting estuaries and, in some cases, fresh water (e.g., '' Lutjanus goldiei''). The family includes about 113 species. Most species are used for foo ...

. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean, and is the only species in the genus ''

Etelis ''Etelis'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lutjanidae, the snappers. They are mostly native to the Indian and Pacific oceans with one species ''(E. oculatus)'' native to the western Atlantic Ocean. Taxonomy ''Etel ...

'' found outside the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region.

Description

The queen snapper has an elongated,

fusiform Fusiform (from Latin ''fusus'' ‘spindle’) means having a spindle (textiles), spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the lemon (geometry), lemon-shape, but often implies a focal broadening of a ...

, slender body. It has a flat intraorbital area, large eyes and a short snout with the lower jaw slightly protruding. The jaws have bands of small conical teeth, the outer row consisting of larger teeth which are more widely spaced. There are 1-2 pairs of canine teeth in the front of the jaws. The

vomerine teeth The vomer (; ) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxillary bones. The vomer forms t ...

are arranged in a V-shaped patch, which is sometimes very triangular. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

has 10 spines and 11 soft rays, while the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

contains 3 spines and 8 soft rays, the rearmost ray on each fin being the longest. The dorsal and anal fins are both scaleless. The

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

is deeply forked and its lobes lengthen as the fish grows. It has long pointed

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s which contain 19 or 17 rays. The body is covered with medium-sized scales and the dorsal scale rows run parallel to the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

. The maximum recorded

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

is , although a total length of is more typical. This species has a reddish deep pink back and upper flanks fading towards the abdomen. The fins other than the spiny part of the dorsal, and the caudal fin which are brilliant red, are pink. The large eyes are yellow with a red iris.

Distribution

The queen snapper is found in the warmer waters of the western Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

south along the Atlantic coast of the United States, through the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

to South America as far south as

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

in Brazil. It is also found at

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and at Brazil's

Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha (), officially the State District of Fernando de Noronha () and formerly known as the Federal Territory of Fernando de Noronha () until 1988, is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and ...

and

Atol das Rocas The Rocas Atoll ( ) is the only atoll in the South Atlantic Ocean. It belongs to the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Norte. It is located approximately northeast of Natal and west of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago. The atoll is of volcan ...

Islands.

Habitat and biology

The queen snapper is a

bathydemersal Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of ocean, seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 T ...

species which is found at depths between . Adults are found over rock substrates where they feed mainly on fish and squid. The juveniles are found in mid-water and will feed on crustaceans.

Spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

takes place through most of the year, peaking towards the end of the year; spring seems to be when these fish are not reproductively active.

Taxonomy

The queen snapper was first formally described in 1828 by the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Achille Valenciennes as ''Serranus oculatus'' with the type locality given as

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''oculatus'' means “eyed” and is based on the local name for this species on Martinique, ''gros-yeux'' which means “bigeyes”.

Fisheries

The queen snapper is a quarry for commercial fisheries throughout its range. They are caught using hand lines, longlines and traps. When they are brought to the surface they suffer from irreversible barotrauma, meaning that most cannot be returned. They are subjected to severe fishing pressure and it is almost certain that some populations are declining. The juveniles are taken as a by-catch by trawlers. This species is regarded as an excellent food fish and the fish caught are sold fresh and frozen. In the waters off the south eastern United States the queen snapper is managed by the South Atlantic Fish Management Council. They apply a minimum size of total length and a catch limit of 10 snappers of any species for both commercial and recreational Allowable Catch Limits. The Gulf of Mexico Fish Management Council also includes this species within the 10 snapper per person aggregate limit in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, but does not set a minimum size limit or a season.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2062031 Etelis Fish described in 1828