236 UNDERWATER GUIDE TO MARINE LIFE 



families. The dominant color is a barred dark green on the body with yellow 

 or red fins, but almost all species show several color phases. There is a tendency 

 for many species to become red in deep water. In almost all of them some 

 teeth in the front of both jaws are enlarged and caninelike. Some large snappers 

 have been observed to stand with their mouths wide open, allowing butterfly 

 fishes to probe deep in their throats for parasites. 



Most snappers are delicious as food, but some are variously reported to 

 cause a fish poisoning called "ciguatera." 



GRAY SNAPPER (mangrove SNAPPER, PARGO PRiETo) : LuHanns griseiis—Color 



Plate 5 



Size: Averages IVi feet. Up to 3 feet rarely. 



Weight: Averages 2 to 3 pounds. Rarely up to 18 pounds. 



Distribution: West Indies. North to New Jersey. 



Identification: The body is usually dark greenish, becoming reddish in deep 

 water. The dorsal and caudal fins are dark gray or blackish. The anal and paired 

 fins are flesh-colored or rose. The greenish, shallow-water forms are faintly barred 

 as are many snappers. 



Hahits: This is the most common of the snappers. It lurks in mangrove groves, 

 coral areas, and harbors, and strays to deeper water. It is catholic in tastes, eating 

 fishes, tree crabs from the mangroves, and even a certain amount of refuse. 

 LaMonte (1952) reports that it often schools with the yellowtail snapper. 



Similar S'pecies: The dog snapper or jocu, Lutianus jocu, is found from the 

 West Indies to Florida and straggles to Cape Cod. It reaches a weight of 20 

 pounds. The color is much like that of the gra}' snapper, but the sides are 

 distinctly reddish or coppery, and the dorsal and caudal fins are reddish, the 

 paired fins yellowish. There is also a large whitish area below the eye. The dog 

 snapper may, in some places, be poisonous as food. 



The muttonfish (pargo criollo), Lutianus analis, reaches over 2^2 feet and 25 

 pounds. It is common from the West Indies and Florida and straggles to 

 Cape Cod. It strongly resembles the gray snapper, but all the fins are reddish, 

 and there is a prominent blue bar under the eye from the nostril to the rear 

 end of the gill cover. There are rows of pale blue spots extending obliquely up 

 and back from the lateral line. The iris of the eye is fiery red. 



The pargo prieto or dog snapper, Lutianus novemfasciatus, reaches 80 pounds 

 or more and is common from Cape San Lucas south to Panama. It is like a gray 

 snapper in body color when young, frequently having a slate tinge above, with 

 the lower parts white. Older specimens, are a uniform reddish-brown color. 

 The inside of the mouth is a reddish yellow and bears very large, caninelike 

 teeth. 



SCHOOLMASTER (pARGO AMARiLLo) : Liitianus apocliis—Color Plate 5 



Size: Averages 18 inches. Reaches 2 feet. 

 Weight: Averages 2 to 3 pounds. Reaches 8 pounds. 



Distribution: West Indies north to Florida. Straggles to Cape Cod when 

 young. 



Identification: The ground color varies from a barred greenish or grayish with 



