The Snappers or Pargos 



GENUS LUTIANUS BLOCH 



The Snappers or Pargos 



Body oblong, compressed, the back somewhat elevated; head 

 long, naked above, except for a broad oblique band of scales on nape; 

 nostrils normally close together, neither with a tube; mouth large, the 

 jaws with bands of villiform teeth, besides which is usually an outer 

 series of larger teeth in each jaw; vomer and palatines with villiform 

 teeth; usually one or more patches of teeth on tongue in adult; no 

 molars; preopercle finely serrate, without notch; soft parts of dorsal 

 and anal scaly at base; the dorsal continuous; caudal lunate or forked; 

 parietal crest not confluent with orbital rim. 



Species very numerous, Asiatic, American, and African; all very 

 active, predatory fishes, highly valued as food, and many of them 

 possessing good game qualities. In our waters there are about 20 spe- 

 cies, most of them food-fishes of importance. 



a. Top of head scaled mridis, 406 



aa. Top of head not scaled. 



b. Dorsal spines 10. 



c. Vomerine teeth in a diamond-shaped patch jordani, 407 



cc. Vomerine patch of teeth f -shaped, or /\-shaped, not diamond- 

 shaped. 



d. Soft dorsal normally with 14 rays, rarely 13. 



e. Anal fin rounded, its middle rays less than |- length of head; no 



large black lateral spot. 



/. Gill-rakers 7 to 9, usually with few rudiments if any. 

 g. Vomerine teeth forming a /\- or a ^ -shaped patch, the backward 



prolongation on median line very short or wanting. 



h. Maxillary 2-f in head; preorbital si nwemfasciatus, 407 



hh. Maxillary 2-f in head ; preorbital 4! cyanopterus, 407 



gg. Vomerine teeth forming an anchor-shaped patch with a distinct 



backward prolongation on the median line. 

 /'. Scales above lateral line arranged in series not parallel with lateral 



line, being oblique and irregular, at least below second dorsal. 

 j. Body comparatively elongate, the depth 2| to 3 in length. 



griseus, 407 



jj. Body deeper, the depth about 2\ in length. 



k. Scales moderate, about 9 in an oblique series from first dorsal to 



lateral line, about 55 in lateral line jocu, 408 



kh. Scales unusually large, only 5 or 6 in an oblique series from first 



dorsal to lateral line, about 45 in lateral line apodus, 409 



405 



