Barred Pargo

The Mexican barred snapper has a moderately compressed deep body, the deepest body of all the snappers being 44-46% as deep as it is long. The preoperculum is strongly incised and has an obvious knob. It has a long anterior, tubular nostril which points downwards while the posterior nostril is set in a relatively long deep groove in front of the eye. The jaws are equipped with a band of robust molar-like teeth, and there are several similar vomerine teeth but no teeth on the tongue. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 14 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 9 soft rays, there are scales on the bases of both these fins. The long pectoral fins extend past the level of the anus and contain 16-17 rays. The overall colour is reddish-brown, browner on the head with a white chin. There are six alternating broad and slender vertical white bars on their flanks. The juveniles are marked with closely paired bars on their flanks and a black spot on the base of the dorsal fin rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 92 cm (36 in), although 50 cm (20 in) is more typical, and the maximum published weight is 9.6 kg (21 lb).

The Mexican barred snapper is endemic to the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Its range extends from southern Baja California and the northern Gulf of California south to Ecuador. It is also found around the Galapagos, Malpelo and the Cocos Islands. It occurs at depths between 3 and 50 m (9.8 and 164.0 ft). The adults are found in rocky areas near coral reefs, also in caves. Juveniles can be found in rocky tidal pools.