Lutjanus jocu
Dog Snapper
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Lutjanidae (Snappers)
Lutjanus
Lutjanus jocu (Dog Snapper)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Pair of large canines in upper jaw; white bar on side of head; interorbital space slightly convex; maxilla extends to anterior margin of orbit; jaws with outer row of enlarged teeth and narrow inner row of villiform teeth; vomerine tooth patch V-shaped or crescentic with elongate posteromedial extension; tongue with single large oval patch of small teeth; preoperculum with serrated posterior margin; gill rakers on first arch 6-8 on upper limb and 12-14 on lower limb; head length 39%-40% SL; eye diameter 6%-9% SL; snout length 15%-16% SL; lower jaw length 15%-16% SL; pectoral fin length 29%-33% SL; pelvic fin length 19%-21% SL; body depth 36%-43% SL; pectoral fin rays 16 or 17; dorsal fin shallowly notched with 10 spines and 13 or 14 rays; anal fin rounded with 8 rays; caudal fin slightly emarginate to weakly forked; lateral scales 46 to 49; tubed lateral line scales 46 to 49; scale rows on back rise obliquely above lateral line
Olive brown with bronze tinge and occasionally narrow pale bars on upper half of body, reddish with copper tinge on remainder of body; series of blue spots from below eye to operculum; pale whitish triangular bar between lower edge of eye and corner of mouth; juveniles with horizontal blue line below eye; fins brown to yellowish orange
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Massachusetts to northern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles
Throughout the Gulf of Mexico in coastal waters
Habitat Associations
Coral reefs (adults), coastal waters, estuaries, and brackish water (juveniles)
Biology
Gastropods, cephalopods, shrimps, crabs, and ray-finned fishes
Maximum known size is 600 mm SL
Spawning occurs in winter in the Greater Antilles; maturity reached at about 300 to 400 mm SL
Adults are common around rocky or coral reefs. Young are found in estuaries and occasionally enters rivers. Feed mainly on fishes and benthic invertebrates, including shrimps, crabs, gastropods and cephalopods.
IUCN Red List Status: Data Deficient (DD), assessed 2015-10-10. Resilience: Low (K=0.10; tm=5.5).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941 (as Lutianus jocu)
Anderson 1967
Anderson 2002c
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Allen 1985
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1993b
Smith 1997
Schaldach et al. 1997
Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999
Allen, G.R. (1985) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 6. Snappers of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lutjanid species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(6):208 p. Rome: FAO.
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Randall, J.E. (1996) Caribbean reef fishes. Third Edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3nd ed. 368 p.
Sierra, L.M., R. Claro and O.A. Popova (1994) Alimentacion y relaciones tróficas. p. 263-284. In Rodolfo Claro (ed.) Ecología de los Peces Marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
IGFA (2001) Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. IGFA, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Feitoza, B.M., L.A. Rocha, O.J. Luiz-Júnior, S.R. Floeter and J.L. Gasparini (2003) Reef fishes of St. Paul's Rocks: new records and notes on biology and zoogeography. aqua, J. Ichthyol. Aquat. Biol. 7(2):61-82.
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