Snapper
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Aphareus |
- Snapper can also refer to the Snapping turtle.
The Lutjanidae or snappers are a family of perciform fishes, mainly marine but with some members living in estuaries, and entering fresh water to feed. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapper.
Snappers are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of all the oceans. They can grow to about a metre in length. Most feed on crustaceans or other fish, though a few are plankton-feeders. They can be kept in aquaria, but mostly grow too fast to be popular aquarium fish. They live at depths of up to 450m.
About 100 species of snapper are currently recognised, divided into about 16 genera. A very large number of fish species have "snapper" in their common name; most but not all of these are members of the family Lutjanidae. Almost all the 60 or so species in the genus Lutjanus have common names including the word "snapper".
The fish known as "Snapper" in New Zealand and Australia is Pagrus (Chrysophrys) auratus, a member of the family Sparidae of porgies and sea breams. The fish known as "Red Snapper" in New Zealand is Centroberyx affinis of the family Berycidae.
References
- Paulin, Chris D. "Pagrus auratus, a new combination for the species known as "snapper" in Australasian waters (Pisces: Sparidae)". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1990, 24:259-265. http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjmfr/1990/26.php