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 viridis, 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 ^-shaped, or A-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. 



/;. Maxillary 2f in head ; preorbital v| novemfasciatus, 407 



hh. Maxillary 2f in head ; preorbital 4I cyanoptents, 407 



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



backward prolongation on the median line. 

 i. Scales above lateral line arranged in series not parallel with lateral 



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

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



gn'seiis, 407 



;'/. Body deeper, the depth about 2| in length. 



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



lateral line, about S5 in lateral line joru, 408 



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



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



405 



