Description: color pinkish
red over entire body, whitish below; long triangular snout; anal fin
sharply pointed; no dark lateral spot.
Similar Fish: vermilion
snapper, R. aurorubens.
Where found: OFFSHORE on
the continental shelf, more plentiful off the panhandle than in south or
middle Florida.
Size: to 20 pounds.
*Florida Record: 46 lbs.,
8 ozs.
Remarks: juveniles occur
over sandy or mud bottoms and are often taken in shrimp trawls; adults may
live more than 20 years, and attain 35 pounds or more; sexual maturity
attained at age 2; spawns June to October; feeds on crustaceans and fish.
* 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.
