![]() ![]() They reach sexual maturity when they are between 1 and 2 years old. Vermilion snapper are slow growing fish and have a longevity of more than 15 years. Over the Abrolhos Bank off Brazil spawning takes place in February and March. Off Trinidad and Tobago, spawning takes place all year, peaking from around June until November. In the Gulf of Mexico the spawning season of the vermilion snapper runs from mid-April until mid-September, this is also the case off the eastern coast of the United States. It is a predatory species which forages for benthic and pelagic fishes, shrimps, crabs, polychaetes, cephalopods and other invertebrates. The vermilion snapper frequently aggregates in large schools, often with red snapper species Lutjanus campechanus and Lutjanus purpureus, especially the younger individuals. The adults occur at moderate depths, most frequently where there are rock, gravel or sand substrates close to the edge of the continental and island shelves, juveniles are found in shallower waters. It is found at depths between 20 and 300 m (66 and 984 ft). Then through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea southwards along the eastern coast of South America as far as Santa Catarina, Brazil. It ranges from North Carolina and Bermuda south along the eastern coast of the United States to the Bahamas. The vermilion snapper is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. The anal fin is pinkish red the caudal fin is red with a black margin, the dorsal fin is red with a yellow margin and the pectoral fins are red. There is a series of short wavy oblique blue lines on the sides flanks above the lateral line which are created by spots on the scales, there may be yellow streaks below the lateral line. The overall colour is bright red fading to pink on the lower flanks and then to whitish on the abdomen. This species attains a maximum total length of 60 cm (24 in), although of 35 cm (14 in) is more typical, and the maximum published weight is 3.2 kg (7.1 lb). The caudal fin is forked, but not extremely so. ![]() The pectoral fins contain 17-19 fin rays and are comparatively short, not extending as far as the level of the anus. The dorsal fin has 12-13 spines and 10-11 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 8 soft rays, and the anal fin is rounded. There are no enlarged canines in the jaws and the vomerine teeth are arranged in a triangular or rhombus shaped patch with a wide rearwards extension and there is a patch of granular teeth on the tongue. ![]() The upper jaw slides under neath the cheekbones when the mouth is shut. There are two pairs of nostrils on the snout, front and rear, which are simple holes. The vermilion snapper has an elongated, oblong body, With a short snout, a slightly protruding lower jaw and a small mouth. The specific name is also a compound, aureus meaning “golden” and rubens meaning “reddish”, a reference to the golden-red colour this specimens develop when preserved in alcohol. The generic name Rhomboplites is a compound of rhombo meaning rhombus-shaped and hoplites meaning “armed” a reference to rhombic shape of the patch of vomerine teeth. It is now classified as the only species in the monotypic genus Rhomboplites which was created by Theodore Nicholas Gill in 1862, which is within the subfamily Lutjaninae. The vermilion snapper was first formally described in 1829 as Centropristis aurorubens by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier with the type locality given as Brazil, Martinique and Santo Domingo. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean. The vermilion snapper ( Rhomboplites aurorubens), the clubhead snapper, night snapper, Brian’s red fish or beeliner is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. ![]()
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