Rhomboplites aurorubens
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Lutjanidae (Snappers)
Rhomboplites
Rhomboplites aurorubens (Vermilion 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
Very large eyes, slightly projecting lower jaw, no enlarged teeth in jaws. Interorbital space strongly convex. Maxilla extends to anterior margin of orbit. Jaws with outer row of slightly enlarged teeth and inner band of villiform teeth. Vomerine tooth patch rhomboid shaped with elongate medial extension. Tongue has ovate patch of granular teeth. Gill rakers on first arch 8-10 on upper limb and 19-22 on lower limb. Measurements (% SL): head length 35%-37%, eye diameter 9%-11%, snout length 9%-11%, upper jaw length 12%-13%, pectoral fin length 29%-30%, pelvic fin length 22%-23%, body depth 31%-37%. Pectoral fin with 16-19 (usually 17 or 18) rays. Dorsal fin shallowly notched between spinous and rayed sections with 12 (rarely 13) spines and 11 (rarely 10 or 12) rays. Anal fin rounded with 3 spines and 8 (rarely 9) rays. Caudal fin lunate to forked. Scales in horizontal series 66-71, tubed lateral line scales 46-52. Scale rows on back rise obliquely above lateral line. Scales cover proximal parts of membranes of rayed sections of dorsal and anal fins.
Vermilion on dorsal half of body, silvery with reddish tinge on remainder. Faint oblique brown lines follow scale rows on upper flanks, narrow horizontal yellow lines on lower flank. Iris red. Dorsal fin yellowish with vermilion blotches, caudal fins yellowish, anal and pelvic fins whitish.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda to southern Brazil, including northern and southern Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, and Greater and Lesser Antilles.
Habitat Associations
Between 25 and 400 m, associated with rocky bottoms near edge of continental and insular shelves.
Rocky bottoms
Biology
Pelagic and benthic organisms, including polychaetes, shrimps, crabs, and ray-finned fishes.
Maximum known size is 630 mm TL. Maximum known age is 14 years.
Adults are found in moderately deep waters, most common over rock, gravel or sand bottoms near the edge of the continental and island shelves, often in large schools. Young fish occur in shallower depths (below 25 m), also often forming large schools. They feed on fishes, shrimps, crabs, polychaetes, other benthic invertebrates, cephalopods and planktonic organisms. Good food fish (Ref. 9626).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Spawning occurs over most of the year with peak activity during spring and summer, at least in the northern part of the range (Puerto Rico to the Carolinas).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2015-10-10. Resilience: Medium (K=0.20; tm=3; tmax=10).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish.
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Anderson 1967
Anderson 2002c
Böhlke and Chaplin 1968
Hastings et al. 1976
Hoese and Moore 1977
Hoese and Moore 1998
Grimes et al. 1982
Allen 1985
Boschung 1992
Cervigón 1993b
Schaldach et al. 1997
Smith 1997
Smith-Vaniz 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.
Cervigón, F. (1993) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 2. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 497 p.
Sedberry, G.R. and N. Cuellar (1993) Planktonic and benthic feeding by the reef-associated vermilion snapper, Rhomboplites aurorubens (Teleostei, Lutjanidae). Fish. Bull. 91:699-709.
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.
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