Pristipomoides macrophthalmus

The cardinal snapper, also called the bigeye snapper, is a ray-finned fish in the family Lutjanidae. It lives in the western Atlantic Ocean. Its most obvious feature is its large eyes, which are bigger than the space between them.

Description

The body is moderately deep and oblong, typically more than a third of its standard length, and shaped like a torpedo. The mouth is large with a slightly protruding upper jaw, the snout is short and blunt, and the area between the eyes is flat. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 11 soft rays, while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 soft rays; the last soft ray on each of these fins extends into a short filament. The long pectoral fins reach the anus and have 15 or 16 rays, and the tail fin is forked.

The back and upper sides are pink with a silvery sheen, fading to silver on the lower sides and belly. The fins range from see-through to pink. This species can reach a total length of 50 cm (20 in), though 30 cm (12 in) is more common.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described in 1848 as Centropristis macrophthalmus by German zoologists Johannes Peter Müller and Franz Herman Troschel, based on a specimen from Barbados. The name macrophthalmus means "large eyed." In 1862, Theodore N. Gill used Mesoprion vorax (a junior synonym) as the type species for the genus Platyinius, which is now considered a subgenus of Pristipomoides.

Distribution and habitat

This snapper is found from Bermuda, southeastern Florida, and Louisiana south through the Gulf of Mexico to Campeche and Cuba. In the Caribbean, it ranges from Cuba to St. Lucia and along the Central and South American coast from Nicaragua to La Guajira, Colombia. It lives near the bottom at depths between 110 and 550 m (360 to 1,800 ft), over soft or semi-hard seafloors.

Biology

Little is known about its biology. Like other snappers, it is a predator that eats smaller fish and large zooplankton. Off Puerto Rico, it breeds year-round, with peaks in March and December. Off Florida, it reaches sexual maturity at a fork length of 18 cm (7.1 in).

This species is not a primary target for fisheries. It is usually caught as bycatch, or targeted only when stocks of other snappers are low. In Puerto Rico, it became a target after the population of Lutjanus vivanus dropped sharply. It is caught with handlines and bottom trawls, and the catch is typically sold fresh.