270 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
I have attempted below the thankless task of segregating the synonymy of the three 
species. This should prove useful, but it must be taken with a grain of salt. Cope’s 
torridus has been placed in the synonymy of this species, following the action of Jordon 
and Swain. It may be pointed out, however, that Cope’s fish had a relatively deeper 
body considering its size, a longer pectoral fin, and the author also mentions a brown 
stripe under the dorsal fin, characters which would suggest buccanella a description of 
which is given below. 
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT 
Since published records are doubtful, no final comprehensive statement may be 
made now with assurance in regard to the range of the separate species. It seems 
evident that their ranges overlap. L. vivanus and L. campechanus are more southern 
fish, while blackfordii ranges further northward ; but all three probably occur together 
in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico, in the Caribbean Sea, and possibly as far 
south as Brazil. They seem also to differ with respect to their habitat. L. black- 
fordii occurs on rocky bottom, and the great bulk of the catch is probably obtained in 
water up to 50 fathoms in depth, while vivanus lives on muddy bottoms and generally 
ranges in deeper water. L. campechanus may also be expected to occur in deeper 
water than blackfordii. The specimens here described were obtained by the fishermen 
out of Pensacola, in the Gulf of Mexico, on the southern edge of the Campeachy 
Banks in about 73 fathoms. 
Mesoprion vivanus, Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss. 2: 454 (quarto ed., p. 343), 1928. 
(Martinique.) 
Mesoprion aya, Guichenot, Hist. Fis. Pal. Nat. Cuba, ed. by Ramon de la Sagro, 4 : 157, 1843. 
(Cuba.) 
Mesoprion vivanus, Gunther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. 1: 203, 1859. (Jamaica; Bahia.) 
Mesoprion profundus, Poey, Memorias Hist. Nat. Cuba. 2: 150, 1860. (Cuba.) 
Mesoprion profundus, Poey, Reportorio Fis. Nat. Cuba 2: 157, 1867. 
Mesoprion profundus, Poey, t. c. p. 294, 1868 (Synopsis). 
Lutjanus torridus, Cope, Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. (n. s.) 14 : 469, 1871. 
Lutjanus profundus, Poey, An. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. 4: 102 (Enumeratio p. 28), 1875. 
Lutjanus profundus, Poey, Anal. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. 10: 320, 1881. (Fauna Puerto Riquena by 
Gundlach.) (Porto Rico.) 
Mesoprion vivanus, Jordan, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Philadelphia, 35: 286, 1883. (Types reexamined.) 
Lutjanus profundus, Jordan and Swain, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., 7: 444, 1885. (Cuba.) 
Mesoprion vivanus, Jordan, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. 9: 534, (1887), 1886. (Reexamination of types.) 
Lutjanus profundus, Diaz, Peces de Cuba, p. 64, 1893. 
Lutjanus vivanus, Jordan and Fesler, Rep. U. S. Comm. Fish. (1889-91), p. 445, 1893. 
Neomaenis vivanus, Jordan and Evermann, Bulletin U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 47, Part 2, p. 1262, 1898. 
Neomaenis vivanus, Evermann and Marsh, Fishes Porto Rico, p. 175, 1900. (Porto Rico.) 
Neomaenis vivanus, Barbour, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 46 : 121, 1905. (Bermuda.) 
Lutianus vivanus, Bean, Publ. Field Column. Mus. Chicago, (Zool. ser.) 7 : 56, 1906. (Bermuda.) 
Lutjanus vivanus, Metzlaar, Rap. Kolonie Curacao, p. 64, 1919. (Curacao; St. Martin; St. Eusta- 
tius.) 
Lutianus vivanus, Nichols, Fish. Porto Rico and Virgin Islands, p. 264, 1929. (San Juan, Porto 
Rico, market.) 
LUTIANUS BLACKFORDII 
COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE 
This is the common red snapper which is sold in the markets of this country. 
It is obtained largely in the Gulf of Mexico and marketed chiefly through the port 
of Pensacola. Small quantities are also taken by the fishermen on the east coast of 
Florida and off Georgia. Almost the entire catch is obtained with hook and line 
