507 



Abstract.— The larval development of 



red snapper, Liitjaiuis campechanus. 

 is described from reared larvae and 

 from specimens collected in the Gulf 

 of Mexico (GOM). Snapper larvae are 

 pelagic and are characterized by the 

 following features: a deep and com- 

 pressed, lightly pigmented body; mod- 

 erately short gut; 24 myomeres; and 

 elongated dorsal and pelvic fins that 

 form early in development. Specimens 

 of L. campechanus (1.9 to 26.1 mm) 

 also showed the presence of weak ser- 

 rations on pelvic-fin spines, ab.sence of 

 serrations on preopercular or dorsal 

 spines, early forming pigment in dorsal 

 and pelvic fins, and notochord flexion 

 between 3.6 and 5.5 mm. Preflexion 

 larvae of the snapper subfamily Lut- 

 janinae in GOM collections cannot be 

 reliably identified to species despite 

 recent larval descriptions. Species-spe- 

 cific differences in number, spacing, and 

 size of melanophores in the postanal 

 ventral series are evident in the young- 

 est larvae of species from the GOM 

 whose development has been described 

 iOcyurus chrysurus, L. analis, L. syn- 

 agris. L. griseus. L. campechanus. and 

 Rhomboplites aurorubens) but further 

 evaluation of the utility of these charac- 

 ters is needed. Characteristics that dis- 

 tinguish mid- to late-flexion larvae of 

 these species are compiled in our study 

 and discussed. Among known GOM lut- 

 janine larvae, body depth, pelvic-ray 

 length and serrations on the angle spine 

 of the preopercle can be used in com- 

 bination with pigmentation to identify 

 larvae to species. Presence of melanistic 

 pigment (and size at first appearance) 

 or absence of melanistic pigment in the 

 following locations are useful charac- 

 ters for larval snapper identification: 

 anterior surface of the visceral mass, 

 ventral to notochord flexure; internal 

 area over the notochord; dorsal midline 

 of caudal peduncle; soft dorsal fin; anal- 

 fin base or membrane; and pelvic fin. 



Larval development of red snapper^ 

 Lutjanus campechanus, and comparisons 

 with co-occurring snapper species 



Denice M. Drass 



National Marine Fisheries Sen/ice, NOAA 



3209 Frederick St 



Pascagoula, Mississippi 39567 



E-mail address ddrassia'triton pas.nmfs.gov 



Kevin L. Bootes 



Marine Science Institute 

 University of Texas at Austin 

 750 Channel View Drive 

 Port Aransas, Texas 78373 



Joanne Lyczkowski-Shultz 



National Marine Fishenes Sen/ice, NOAA 

 3209 Frederick St 

 Pascagoula, Mississippi 39567 



Bruce H. Comyns 



Gulf Coast Research Laboratory 



E. Beach Blvd 



Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564 



G. Joan Holt 



Marine Science Institute 

 University of Texas at Austin 

 750 Channel View Dnve 

 Port Aransas, Texas 78373 



Cecilia M. Riley 



Gulf Coast Bird Observatory 

 103 West Highway 332 

 Lake Jackson, Texas 77566 



Ronald P. Phelps 



Department of Fisheries and Allied 

 Aquaculture 

 Auburn University 

 Auburn, Alabama 36849 



Manuscript accepted 7 February 2000. 

 Fish. Bull. 98:507-.527 (2000). 



In the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the red 

 snapper. Lutjanus campechanus, sup- 

 ports lucrative commercial and recre- 

 ational fisheries that have been under 

 increasingly restrictive regulation since 

 the 1980s (Workman and Foster, 1994; 

 Schirripa and LegaultM. Responsible 

 management decisions should be based 

 on an understanding of all life history 

 stages, but until recently the larval 

 development of only three of the 18 

 species of snappers found in the GOM 

 were known. Collins et al. (1980) de- 

 scribed L. campechanus from wild lar- 

 vae with substantial fin development 

 that allowed identification by meristic 

 counts and Rabalais et al. (1980) de- 

 scribed reared red snapper eggs and 

 larvae that developed only until 4 days 

 after hatching. Substantial fin devel- 

 opment also allowed identification by 

 meristic counts for larvae of the vermil- 

 ion snapper. Rhomboplites aurorubens 

 (Laroche, 1977), and a third lutjanid, 

 the gray snapper (L. griseus), was de- 

 scribed by Richards and Saksena ( 1980 ) 



from reared specimens. More recently, 

 descriptions by Clarke et al., 1997 ( Ocy- 

 urus chrysurus, L. analis and L. syn- 

 agris), Riley et al.. 1995 (O. chrysurus), 

 Leis and Lee, 1994 iEtelis spp., Pristi- 

 po)7}oicles aquilonaris and P. freemani?) 

 and the summary compilation by Rich- 

 ards et al. (1994) added three genera 

 and four species to the list of known 

 snapper larvae. Our paper describes for 

 the first time the complete sequence 

 of larval development of red snapper 

 from reared specimens and compares 

 the structure and shape of reared and 

 wild larvae. Additionally, we present a 

 summary of developmental character- 

 istics to separate snapper larvae in field 

 collections from the Gulf of Mexico. 



Schirripa. M. J., and C. M. Legault. 1997. 

 Status of the red snapper in U.S. waters of 

 the Gulf of Mexico: updated through 1996. 

 Unpublished contribution report MlA-97/ 

 98-05, 37 p. Miami Laboratory, Southeast 

 Fish. Sci. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., 

 NOAA. 



