7 8 
AMERICAN FISHES. 
The genus Lutjanus is found everywhere in tropical waters, and 
fish resembling the Red Snapper occur everywhere throughout the West 
Indies. There is one which is abundant on the Bahama Banks and in 
South Florida. This is L. c amp e chi anus, Poey, perhaps also accompanied 
by L. torridus , Cope. Two other brilliant red species occur with Z. Black- 
fordii in the Gulf of Mexico—the Pensacola Snapper, Z. Stearnsii , and 
the Mangrove Snapper, Rhomboplites aurorubens. On the Bermuda reefs 
occurs a small but brilliant species, still undescribed, which I propose call¬ 
ing Z. autolycus. 
The Pensacola Snapper might fairly be compared with Z. Black- 
fordii , although its color is somewhat less vivid. Concerning this spe¬ 
cies, Mr. Stearns, whose name it bears, writes: “It is abundant on the 
Gulf coast, and lives in the bays all the year. In summer it is to be found 
about stone-heaps, wharves, and old wrecks, where it obtains crustaceous 
food in abundance. In winter it returns to the deeper places in search of 
food, and to escape from the cold surface-water. During a cold snap in 
1876 a great many of these fish were benumbed and floated at the surface, 
until the sun appeared and warmed them, when they revived and sought 
the bottom. They spawn in May and June. They are very cunning, and 
will not readily take the hook. Those commonly seen in the bays are 
quite small, averaging ten inches in length, while those taken with the 
Red Snappers at sea are from twenty to twenty-four inches long. It is an 
excellent food-fish, generally thought to be superior in flavor to the Red 
Snapper.” This fish has as yet been found only on the Gulf coasts of the 
United States, where it is known as the “Mangrove Snapper.” Since 
this name is used on the Atlantic coast for another species, and has been 
so used since the time of Catesby, it seems desirable to designate Lutjanus 
Stearnsii by another name, and “ Pensacola Snapper ” has been suggested. 
The Mangrove Snapper, Rhomboplites aurorubens , of Charleston, called 
at Pensacola the “Bastard Snapper,” is a much more slender and ele¬ 
gantly formed fish than either of the Snappers already described. Its 
color is less vivid, being somewhat more russet, and is enlivened by the 
presence of narrow, oblique lines, with gold and yellow upon the sides. 
It is a swift-swimming fish, probably less given to bottom feeding, and 
more partial to a diet of living fish. It has been found at Jamaica, and 
as far north as Charleston, S. C. 
“ In the Pensacola region,” writes Stearns, “it is well-known, but not 
