Ehrenberg's Snapper

Lutjanus snappers are small to large in size with oblong-shaped bodies, which vary from deep to slender and fusiform. These snappers are extremely variable in colour, frequently having a background colour of reddish, yellow, grey, or brown overlain with a pattern of darker stripes or bars. They are often marked with a large, blackish spot on the upper flanks underneath the front soft rays of the dorsal fin. They have relatively large mouths which are protractable. The teeth are arranged in one or more rows in the jaws and are pointed and conical in shape, with the outer row consisting of canine-like teeth with the anterior ones enlarged into more obvious canine-like fangs. The vomerine teeth are arranged in patches, which may be chevron, triangular, or lunate and may or may not have a posterior extension or be arranged in a rhombus. The space between the eyes is convex, and they have a serrated preopercle, which has a deep incision on its lower margin. They sometimes have a bony knob between the operculum and the preopercle that is most obvious in those species with a deep incision in the preopercle. Lujanus species have continuous dorsal fins, frequently with a slight incision between the spiny portion and the soft-rayed portion. The spiny part of the dorsal fin may have 10 or 11 spines, while the soft-rayed part may have 11 to 16 rays. …