286 FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



supplied with teeth on jaws and usually on vomer and palatines; premaxillaries 

 moderately protractile; maxillaries long, slipping under a sheath formed by the 

 preorbital; supplemental bone absent; opercles without spines, preopercles 

 serrate or entire; gill-arches 4; gill-rakers short, moderate, or long; gill-membranes 

 separate and not joined to isthmus; pseudobranchiae conspicuous; air-bladder 

 present; intestines short; pyloric coeca few; lateral line present; scales ctenoid, 

 of moderate size, adherent, and completely covering body and usually sides 

 of head; dorsal fin single or double, with 10 or 12 rather strong spines; anal 

 similar to posterior dorsal, with 3 spines; caudal concave or forked, pectorals 

 long and pointed; ventrals thoracic, the rays i,5, with modified scales at base. 

 Of the 15 American genera only one, Lutianus (or Neoma^nis) is represented 

 in the state, although several others, which occur on the coast of South 

 Carolina and Florida, may be looked for. 



Genus LUTIANUS Bloch. Snappers. 



A numerous genus of cosmopolitan distribution, characterized by an oblong, 

 compressed body with moderately elevated back; a long, pointed head; a large 

 mouth, well supplied with bands of villiform teeth in jaws, 2 to 4 canine teeth in 

 front of upper jaw, and bands or patches of teeth on vomer, palatines, and tongue 

 (in adult); preopercle finely serrate; gill-rakers few and moderately long; scales 

 deficient on top of head except for an oblique band on nape; lateral line concur- 

 rent with dorsal outline; dorsal fin single, the spines 10 or 11; anal rays 7 to 9. 

 Upwards of 20 American species, of which 4 have thus far been detected in North 



Carolina. 



Key to North Carolina snappers.* 



i. No black spot on side, young with dark cross bands; anal fin rounded, its middle rays less 



than .5 length of head; caudal with concave margin. 



a. Depth contained 2.75 to 3 times in length; mouth large, maxillary .4 length of head; 



scales in lateral series about 50; 7 oblique series of scales between dorsal and lateral line; 



pectoral short, less than .66 length of head; soft dorsal, anal, and caudal blackish. 



griseus. 



aa. Depth contained 2.5 times in length; mouth smaller, maxillary .33 length of head; 



scales in lateral series about 43; 5 or 6 oblique series of scales between dorsal and lateral 



line; pectorals longer, more than .66 length of head; soft dorsal, anal, and caudal orange 



or yellow apodus. 



ii. A black blotch on side, either permanent or growing fainter with age, yoimg without dark 

 cross bands; anal fin angulated, the middle rays much more than .5 length of head; 

 caudal fin forked. 

 h. Lingual teeth well developed, in a broad patch; color nearly uniform rose red. 



hlackfordi. 



bb. Lingual teeth few, in a narrow patch; color greenish above, with dark cross bands, 



numerous oblique streaks, and a persistent black spot on side analis. 



{Lutianus, a latinization of a Malayan name for one of the snappers.) 



25 L LUTIANUS GRISEUS (Linnaeus). 

 Gray Snapper; Mangrove Snapper. 



Labrus griseus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. x, 283, 1758. 

 N eomoenis griseus , Jordan & Evermann, 1898, 1255. 



* The key is based on adult characters 



