The vermilion snapper (''Rhomboplites aurorubens''), the clubhead snapper, night snapper or beeliner is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of marine

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 The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

Taxonomy

The vermilion snapper was first formally described in 1829 as ''Centropristis aurorubens'' 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 ...

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

with the type locality given as Brazil,

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 ...

and

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. It is now classified as the only species in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Rhomboplites'' which was created by

Theodore Nicholas Gill Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist, and librarian. Career Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural histor ...

in 1862, which is within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Lutjaninae Lutjaninae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes, one of four subfamilies classified within the Family (biology), family Lutjanidae, the snappers. Genera The subfamily Lutjaninae contains 6 genera and 76 species: * genus ''Hoplopagrus'' G ...

. The generic name ''Rhomboplites'' is a compound of ''rhombo'' meaning rhombus-shaped and ''hoplites'' meaning "armed" a reference to rhombic shape of the patch of

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 ...

. The specific name is also a compound, ''aureus'' meaning "golden" and ''rubens'' meaning "reddish", a reference to the golden-red colour these specimens develop when preserved in alcohol.

Description

The vermilion snapper has an elongated, oblong body, With a short snout, a slightly protruding lower jaw and a small mouth. There are two pairs of nostrils on the snout, front and rear, which are simple holes. The upper jaw slides under neath the cheekbones when the mouth is shut. There are no enlarged canines in the jaws and the vomerine teeth are arranged in a triangular or rhombus shaped patch with a wide rearwards extension and there is a patch of granular teeth on the tongue. 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 12–13 spines and 10–11 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, and the anal fin is rounded. The

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 contain 17–19 fin rays and are comparatively short, not extending as far as the level of the anus. 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 forked, but not extremely so. This species attains a maximum

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 ...

of , although of is more typical, and the maximum published weight is . The overall colour is bright red fading to pink on the lower flanks and then to whitish on the abdomen. There is a series of short wavy oblique blue lines on the sides flanks above 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 ...

which are created by spots on the scales, there may be yellow streaks below the lateral line. The anal fin is pinkish red; the caudal fin is red with a black margin, the dorsal fin is red with a yellow margin and the pectoral fins are red.

Distribution and habitat

The vermilion snapper is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. It ranges from North Carolina and Bermuda south along the eastern coast of the United States to the Bahamas. Then through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea southwards along the eastern coast of South America as far as

Santa Catarina, Brazil Santa Catarina () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It is located in the centre of the country's Southern region. It is bordered to the north by the state of Paraná, to the south by the state of Rio Grande do Sul, to the east by t ...

. It is found at depths between . The adults occur at moderate depths, most frequently where there are rock, gravel or sand substrates close to the edge of the

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

and island shelves, juveniles are found in shallower waters.

Biology

The vermilion snapper frequently aggregates in large schools, often with red snapper species ''

Lutjanus campechanus The northern red snapper (''Lutjanus campechanus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family (biology), family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico, w ...

'' and ''

Lutjanus purpureus ''Lutjanus purpureus'', the southern red snapper or Caribbean red snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean as well the Caribbean Sea. Taxonomy ''Lut ...

'', especially the younger individuals. It is a predatory species which forages for benthic and pelagic fishes, shrimps, crabs,

polychaetes Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are m ...

cephalopods A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

and other invertebrates. In the Gulf of Mexico the spawning season of the vermilion snapper runs from mid-April until mid-September, this is also the case off the eastern coast of the United States. Off Trinidad and Tobago, spawning takes place all year, peaking from around June until November. Over the Abrolhos Bank off Brazil spawning takes place in February and March. Vermilion snapper are slow growing fish and have a longevity of more than 15 years. They reach sexual maturity when they are between 1 and 2 years old.

Fisheries and conservation

The vermilion snapper is subjected to severe fishing pressure almost everywhere it is found, being a target species for

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

artisanal An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

and recreational fisheries. They are taken using hook and line, as well as trawling and traps. The flesh is considered good eating but the catch could be also used for

fish meal Fish meal (sometimes spelled fishmeal) is a commercial product made from whole wild-caught fish, bycatch, and fish by-products to feed farm animals, such as pigs, poultry, and farmed fish.R. D. Miles and F. A. Chapman.FA122: The Benefits of Fish ...

. The vermilion snapper is often sold as red snapper.Red snapper and other snappers.
CHOW. CBS Interactive. Accessed 2013-6-7. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

assess the vermilion snapper as Vulnerable because of overfishing that happens in many parts of its range, leading to an overall decline in the population of up to 30%. in United States waters three stocks are recognised, two for this species alone in the southern Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico, and a "snapper complex" in the Caribbean. None of these stocks is regarded as subject to overfishing.

References

vermilion snapper Fauna of the Southeastern United States Fish of the Western Atlantic vermilion snapper vermilion snapper {{Perciformes-stub