griseus except H. nimia and H. execta are family specific for the Lutjanids. H. nimia and 
H. execta have been reported from many families, and are unimportant in L. griseus. 
1964 0 
Smith, S. L. (1964) Distribution of Recent foraminifera in lower Florida Bay. M. S. Thesis. 
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wl. 
[NO COPY OF PAPER AVAILABLE.] 
1964 0 
Spackman, W., D. W. Scholl, and W. H. Taft (1964) Field guide to environments of coal 
formation in southern Florida. Marine Science Press, University of Miami. Geological 
Society of America pre-convention field guidebook. 67 pp. 
[DATE OF SAMPLING UNKNOWN OR NOT APPLICABLE.] This is a field guide to coal 
formation in southern Florida. 
1964 0 
Starck, W. A. (1964) A contribution to the biology of the gray snapper Lutjanus griseus 
(Linnaeus), in the vicinity of Lower Matecumbe Key, Florida. Ph. D. Dissertation. University 
of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 258 pp. 
[DATE OF SAMPLING UNKNOWN OR NOT APPLICABLE.] The family Lutjanidae comprises 
a large group of generally medium-sized predaceous fishes common in warm seas. For 
the most part, snappers are shelf species and some are important commercially as food 
fishes. The family contains an estimated 23 genera, six of which occur in the West 
Indian Region. Latjanus is the largest genus with over 70 species, 14 of which are found 
in the West Indian Region. ( Lutjanus griseus ) was described as early as 1743 by 
Catesby and has a synonymy of at least eight names based on Western Atlantic 
specimens. The most frequently encountered English common names are gray snapper 
and mangrove snapper. Commercial landings of gray snapper in Florida have varied 
between about 252,896 to 456,137 pounds, worth $40,078 to $76,140 from 1956 
through 1962. Monroe County usually leads the state in production. Limited information 
on sport fishery landings indicates that the economic value of gray snapper as a sport 
fish far exceeds its commercial value. L. griseus has been recorded from Woods Hole, 
MA, to Sao Paulo, Brazil. It is common throughout the West Indian faunal region. 
Several Eastern Atlantic records exist but the systematic status of the Eastern 
Atlantic species and its synonyms is uncertain. Juvenile gray snapper of 10 - 70 mm 
standard length are common in shallow water grass beds and often in low salinities. At 
70 - 90 mm SL, they begin to congregate around brush, debris and channel edges and 
are common at such locations from 90 - 210 mm SL. Fish over 170 mm SL, tend to 
move into channels. Individuals which occupy reef and wreck areas further offshore 
usually are 200 mm SL or larger. Gray snapper occupy a wider range of habitat than do 
the other common inshore lutjanids in this region. Records from cold kills of gray 
snapper indicate a lethal low temperature limit between 11 - 14°C. During cold periods, 
they move into deeper water and from dense schools. Gray snapper of all sizes have 
been reported from freshwater with chlorinities as low as 50 ppm. High calcium 
content is probably important to snapper in freshwater. Barracuda, Sphyraena 
barracuda, and the green moray, Gymnothorax funebris, are considered the most 
important potential predators of gray snapper on the reef. One small gray snapper was 
taken from the stomach of a cubera snapper, Lutjanus cyanopterus. A number of 
trematodes, an acanthocephalan worm, three nematodes and one cestode have been 
reported as endoparasites of L. griseus. Tumorous growths are seen on 5 - 10% of 
large snapper at Alligator Reef. A lower incidence was observed in smaller fish. Gray 
snapper are among the dominant medium sized predators in most areas where they 
occur. Several thousand are present in two schools at Alligator Reef in summer. The 
basic color pattern of gray snapper is gray dorsally with white counter-shading. Shade 
171 
