Lane snapper (Lutjanus synagris) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over reef, at depths of 10–400 m.
Scientific name: Lutjanus synagris · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 60 cm
The lane snapper is a lutjanid whose adults are found over all types of bottom but mainly around coral reefs and on vegetated sandy areas, in turbid as well as clear water. They often form large aggregations, especially during the breeding season, and they feed at night on small fishes, bottom-living crabs, shrimps, worms, gastropods and cephalopods; it is a good food fish marketed fresh. It is recorded from 10 to 400 m. Its range is the western Atlantic, from Bermuda and North Carolina to south-eastern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, and it is most abundant around the Antilles, on the Campeche Bank, off Panama and off the northern coast of South America. Maximum length is about 60 cm total length, commonly about 25 cm, and it can live ten years, maturing at about 23.4 cm. It is a commercial species, a gamefish and a public aquarium fish, with a medium price category. Fishing vulnerability is moderate at 37 of 100 and resilience low, and climate vulnerability is high to very high at 74 of 100. IUCN lists it as near threatened.
Caution: large individuals carry a ciguatera risk. Heat, cold and marinating do not remove the toxin, which concentrates in the liver, roe and head, so avoid eating those parts. Seek medical help if numbness, tingling or a reversed sense of hot and cold follows a meal.
Back to home · United States · Species library