Etelis

Etelis is a genus of marine ray-finned fish in the snapper family, Lutjanidae. Most species live in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, except for one, E. oculatus, which is found in the western Atlantic.

Taxonomy

French zoologist Georges Cuvier named the genus in 1830, basing the name on a term used by Aristotle for an undescribed fish. The only species Cuvier originally placed in the genus was Etelis carbunculus, which is now its type species. Currently recognized species include E. boweni, E. carbunculus (deep-water red snapper), E. coruscans (deepwater longtail red snapper), E. oculatus (queen snapper), and E. radiosus (pale snapper). A single fossil species, †Etelis bathypelagicus, is known from a nearly complete skeleton from the Late Miocene Chagres Formation on Panama’s Pacific coast, suggesting it lived in deep waters of the Central American Seaway before the Isthmus of Panama formed.

Characteristics

These snappers are medium-sized with slender, fusiform bodies. Their jaws have small, conical teeth, with the outer row largest, and one or two pairs of enlarged canines at the front. Vomerine teeth form a V-shaped or crescent-shaped patch.

The space between the eyes is flat. The continuous dorsal fin has a notch between its spiny and soft parts, with 10 spines and 10 to 11 soft rays; the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays. Both dorsal and anal fins lack scales, and the last ray of each is elongated.

Pectoral fins are long, nearly as long as the head, with 15 to 17 rays. The caudal fin is forked. Coloration ranges through red or pink shades, fading to silvery or whitish on the lower sides and belly.

Etelis species are mainly found in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific, with the queen snapper also in the tropical western Atlantic. They live at moderate depths (90 to 450 meters) over rocky bottoms, either alone or in small groups. Their diet includes fish, squid, and crustaceans.

Fisheries

These snappers are important food fish, especially in the archipelagos of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. They are caught mainly with bottom longlines and deep handlines. Considered high-quality, the catch is mostly sold fresh.