Lutjanus mahogoni
Mahogany Snapper
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Lutjanidae (Snappers)
Lutjanus
Lutjanus mahogoni (Mahogany 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
Dark spot on lateral line; moderately developed preopercular notch and interopercular knob; interorbital space slightly convex; maxilla extends to anterior margin of pupil; lower jaw projects slightly beyond upper jaw; outer row of enlarged teeth in jaws, including 4 canines in upper jaw; vomerine tooth patch V-shaped or crescentic; tongue with long, narrow patch of small teeth; preoperculum with finely serrated posterior margin; gill rakers on first arch 7-8 on upper limb and 15-17 on lower limb; head length 38%-40% SL; eye diameter 8%-12% SL; pectoral fin length 28%-31% SL; dorsal fin X,11-12; anal fin III,8; scales in horizontal series 57-65; tubed lateral line scales 47-49
Gray to dark olive on upper half and silvery on remainder of body, usually with a red tinge; black spot on upper flank on lateral line below anterior dorsal fin rays; fins reddish to yellow; caudal fin with dusky posterior margin
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Venezuela, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles
Records from the northern Gulf of Mexico are questionable (Boschung 1992)
Habitat Associations
Clear shallow water over rocky bottoms near coral reefs, sandy bottoms, and sea-grass beds; forms large schools
Rocky bottoms near coral reefs, sandy bottoms, and sea-grass beds
Biology
Cephalopods, shrimps, crabs, and small ray-finned fishes; feeding takes place at night
Maximum known size is 480 mm SL
Spawning occurs in summer in the northeastern Caribbean Sea
Adults inhabit clear shallow waters over rocky bottoms in the vicinity of coral reefs, less frequently in sandy or seagrass areas. They often form large aggregations during the day. They feed at night mainly on small fish, shrimps, crabs and cephalopods (Ref. 78464).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2015-10-10. Resilience: Low (K=1).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Anderson 1967
Anderson 2002c
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Randall 1968a
Randall 1996
Allen 1985
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1993b
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
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.
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.
Willoughby, S., J.D. Neilson and C. Taylor (1999) The depth distribution of exploited reef fish populations off the south and west coasts of Barbados. Proc. Gulf Caribb. Fish Inst. 45:57-68.
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