African brown snapper

The African brown snapper (Lutjanus dentatus) is a marine ray-finned fish in the snapper family Lutjanidae, found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean along the West African coast.

Taxonomy

First described in 1861 by French zoologist Auguste Duméril as Mesoprion dentatus, the species was based on a specimen from Gorée, Senegal. Its scientific name dentatus means "toothed," a reference to its large teeth. There is taxonomic uncertainty: a comparison of a vagrant cubera snapper from the Azores with a vagrant African brown snapper from Gran Canaria suggested they might be the same species, which would make L. dentatus a junior synonym of Lutjanus cyanopterus. Additionally, some authorities consider the little-known Guinea snapper (Lutjanus endecacanthus) synonymous with this species.

Description

The African brown snapper has a fairly deep body and a slightly rounded head. Its mouth reaches to the center of the eye and has thick lips. The notch and knob on the preoperculum are weak.

Adult vomerine teeth form a triangular patch, while juveniles have a chevron shape; adults sometimes have a small rearward extension. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 13–14 soft rays, and the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. In adults, the pectoral fins do not reach the anus and have 17 rays.

The maximum recorded total length is 150 cm (59 in), though 50 cm (20 in) is more typical, and the maximum published weight is 50 kg (110 lb). Adults have dusky grey backs and upper flanks, fading to whitish-pink on the lower flanks and belly. Juveniles display alternating light and dark vertical bars of roughly equal width on their sides.

Distribution and habitat

This species occurs in the eastern Atlantic from Senegal to Angola, including Bioko and São Tomé and Príncipe, and has been recorded in the Canary Islands. It inhabits relatively shallow waters between 2 and 50 m (6.6 to 164 ft), typically over rocky and coral reefs, but also in brackish lagoons, mangroves, and occasionally rivers.

Biology

Little is known about its biology, though it feeds on smaller fish and crustaceans.

The African brown snapper is caught by commercial fisheries alongside other snappers. It commands high prices but is less sought after than the African red snapper (Lutjanus agennes). Separate catch data for this species is not collected, but West African fish stocks are known to be overexploited.