FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
257 
140. Lutianus griseus (Linnaeus). Gray snapper; Mangrove snapper. 
Labrus griseus Linnieus, Syst. Nat., ed. X, 1758, p. 283; Bahamas. 
iAitjanus caris Beam, 1891, p. 91. 
Neomsenis griseus Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1255; Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 101. 
Head 2.6 to 2.65; depth 2.35 to 2.6; D. X, 14; A. Ill, 8; scales 48 to 51. Body elongate; 
back moderately elevated; profile straight or slightly concave over snout; head moderate; snout 
rather pointed, 3.25 to 3.4 in head; eye 3.7 to 4.25; interorbital 5.4 to 5.8; mouth large, terminal; 
maxillary reaching to or a little beyond anterior margin of pupil, 2.5 to 2.55 in head; teeth present 
on jaws, vomer, palatines, and tongue; upper jaw with one or two pairs of canines; lower jaw with 
the outer series enlarged; vomerine teeth in an anchor-shaped patch, with a definite, median, 
backward projection; preopercular margin finely serrate; gill rakers rather few and short, eight 
or nine on lower limb of first arch; scales of moderate size, present on base of soft part of vertical 
fins, the rows above lateral line not parallel with it; dorsal fin continuous, without definite notch, 
the soft part higher than the spines; caudal fin concave, the upper lobe longest; anal fin with 
three spines, the second and third of about equal length, the soft part shorter but similar to that 
of dorsal; ventral fins moderate, inserted a little behind base of pectorals; pectoral fins rather 
short, 1.35 to 1.5 in head. 
Color in alcohol dark brown above, becoming pale underneath; rows of scales on sides marked 
by definite dark longitudinal stripes; fins light brown to pale; margin of membranes of spinous 
dorsal black; soft dorsal and base of caudal with small brown spots. The color in life, according 
to published accounts, is dark green above, coppery red below; spinous dorsal dusky, with red 
margin; soft dorsal dusky with white edge anteriorly; caudal olivaceous or reddish black; anal 
reddish with white margin; ventrals pale or whitish, sometimes with faint red markings; pectorals 
pale. 
This fish is able to change its color to agree with its surroundings. In southern Florida, where 
we have studied its habits, it was noted that at times fish became pale gray above with light red 
markings below, while again the color might be dark gray-green above and on sides, with bright red 
predominating on lower part of body. The longitudinal stripes are most prominent when the fish 
is darkest. 
Six small specimens, ranging in length from 105 to 111 millimeters (4J^ to 4% inches), were 
secured. This is the only snapper taken in Chesapeake Bay. It is characterized by the absence of 
both a black spot on the sides and crossbars and by the presence of dark longitudinal stripes along 
the rows of scales, which run obliquely upward and backward above the lateral line and are not 
parallel with it. 
The gray snapper is a food fish of importance in southern Florida, the West Indies, and Panama. 
It occurs as a straggler in the southern part of Chesapeake Bay, where only the young are taken. 
One specimen was caught 2 miles from the mouth of a small creek, the east branch of the Carrotman 
River, a most unusual locality for a fish that enters Chesapeake Bay as a straggler. The species 
ascends streams and not infrequently is taken in brackish water. It is reported to reach a maximum 
weight of 18 pounds. 
Habitat . — Massachusetts to Brazil; occurring north of Florida only as a straggler. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a). Previous records: Cape Charles city, Old Point Comfort, and 
Ocean View, Va. ( b ) Specimens in collection: Lower Rappahannock River, low-er York River, 
Cape Charles, Buckroe Beach, and Lynnhaven Roads, Va. 
Family LXV. — POMADASID/E. The grunts 
Body more or less elongate, compressed; back usually elevated; head rather large; snout 
pointed or blunt ; mouth usually terminal, large or small, low and more or less horizontal; premaxillaries 
protractile; maxillary without a supplemental bone, slipping under preorbital; teeth in jaws only, 
pointed or conical, no canines; preopercle usually serrate; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth; lateral line 
concurrent with the back, usually not extending on caudal fin; scales moderate, firm, ctenoid; dorsal 
fin long, with 10 to 14 rather strong spines, depressible in a groove ; caudal fin more or less concave ; anal 
fin with three spines, the soft part similar to that of dorsal; ventral fins thoracic, with I, 5 rays. 
The fishes of this family are chiefly from tropical waters. Only one species is common and of com- 
mercial importance in Chesapeake Bay. 
