Description: color olive
gray on upper sides with yellow tinge, sometimes with reddish tinge around
head; long triangular snout; eight pale vertical bars on the side of the
body; yellow fins; blue stripe below eye, becoming interrupted in adults;
no dark lateral spot.
Similar Fish: dog
snapper, L. jocu.
Where found: juveniles in
grassy flats; adults NEARSHORE especially around elkhorn coral reefs;
large adults sometimes found on continental shelf.
Size: usually less than 1
pound.
*Florida Record: n/a
Remarks: spawns in July
and August; attain sizes of 8 pounds and 24 inches; slow grower; feeds on
crustaceans, small fishes, and gastropods.
* The Florida records
quoted are from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's
printed publication, Fishing
Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are
provided as only as a benchmark.
