553 



On July 12, 1890, Mr Vinal N. Edw r ards obtained a specimen 

 of the red snapper, which weighed 12 pounds, from a bass trap 

 set in 10 feet of w r ater, at Menemsha, Martha's Vineyard. Mr 

 Edwards believed this to be the first one taken on the Massa- 

 chusetts coast, but thought one was caught some years ago near 

 Block Island. 



On October 10, 1890, a specimen weighing 8J pounds was 

 taken at the same place. On September 7 and 11, and October 

 20, 1900, nine specimens were taken in the vicinity of Woods 

 Hole Mass, and recorded in the article of Dr Smith. The largest 

 of these was under 2 inches long. Dr Smith described the colors 

 as follows: "General color, red like the adult fish; body marked 

 by about seven double dark cross-bands; in the cross-band 

 nearest the junction of the two parts of the dorsal fin is a large 

 jet black blotch extending from the fin to below the lateral line; 

 spinous dorsal dusky; soft dorsal with a .dusky median zone 

 and a dark edge; caudal pale, with a dark narrow border." 



The red snapper has become one of the most famous fishes 

 of our northern markets, and is always attractive on account 

 of its large size, brilliant color, and the excellence of its flesh. 

 We know that the species is to be found on our east coast from 

 Cape Cod to the Carribbean sea. It is rare, however, north of 

 Cape Hatteras and the principal fisheries are located off the 

 coasts of Georgia and Florida, and in the Gulf of Mexico. 



When the red snapper was named in honor of Mr Eugene 

 G. Blackford, in recognition of his invaluable contributions to 

 the science of ichthyology, the describers of the species had 

 carefully considered the question of nomenclature and satisfied 

 themselves that none of the names known to them could with 

 certainty be associated with this fish. Various earlier names 

 have been suggested ,from time to time by several authors as 

 possibly available for the species. In 1883 Dr D. S. Jordan con- 

 sidered it to be the L. campechianus, described by Poey 

 in 1860. This, however, is a species with much smaller scales 

 if the description be accurate. The type has not been exam- 

 ined by any one in the United States so far as I am informed. 



