Snapper are a family of perciform fish, mainly marine but with some members living in estuaries, and entering fresh water to feed. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapper.

Snapper are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of all the oceans. They can grow to about a meter in length. Most feed on crustaceans or other fish, though a few are plankton-feeders. They can be kept in aquaria, but mostly grow too fast to be popular aquarium fish. They live at depths of up to 450 m.

About 100 species of snapper are currently recognised, divided into about 16 genera. A very large number of fish species have "snapper" in their common name; most but not all of these are members of the family Lutjanidae. Almost all the 60 or so species in the genus Lutjanus have common names including the word "snapper".

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Species

• Genus Aphareus
• Small toothed jobfish, Aphareus furca (Lacépède, 1801).
• Rusty jobfish, Aphareus rutilans Cuvier, 1830.
• Genus Aprion
• Green jobfish, Aprion virescens Valenciennes, 1830.
• Genus Apsilus
• Black snapper, Apsilus dentatus Guichenot, 1853.
• African forktail snapper, Apsilus fuscus Valenciennes, 1830.
• Genus Etelis
• Ruby snapper, Etelis carbunculus Cuvier, 1828.
• Flame snapper, Etelis coruscans Valenciennes, 1862.
• Queen snapper, Etelis oculatus (Valenciennes, 1828).
• Scarlet snapper, Etelis radiosus Anderson, 1981.
• Genus Hoplopagrus
• Mexican barred snapper, Hoplopagrus guentherii Gill, 1862.
• Genus Lipocheilus
• Tang's snapper, Lipocheilus carnolabrum (Chan, 1970).
• Genus Lutjanus
• Yellow-banded snapper, Lutjanus adetii (Castelnau, 1873).
• African red snapper, Lutjanus agennes Bleeker, 1863.
• Lutjanus alexandrei Moura & Lindeman, 2007.
• Ambiguous snapper, Lutjanus ambiguus (Poey, 1860).
• Mutton snapper, Lutjanus analis (Cuvier, 1828).
• Schoolmaster snapper, Lutjanus apodus (Walbaum, 1792).
• Mullet snapper, Lutjanus aratus (Günther, 1864).
• Mangrove red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskål, 1775).
• Yellow snapper, Lutjanus argentiventris (Peters, 1869).
• Bengal snapper, Lutjanus bengalensis (Bloch, 1790).
• Two-spot banded snapper, Lutjanus biguttatus (Valenciennes, 1830).
• Indonesian snapper, Lutjanus bitaeniatus (Valenciennes, 1830).
• Two-spot red snapper, Lutjanus bohar (Forsskål, 1775).
• Moluccan snapper, Lutjanus boutton (Lacépède, 1802).
• Blackfin snapper, Lutjanus buccanella (Cuvier, 1828).
• Northern red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus (Poey, 1860).
• Spanish flag snapper, Lutjanus carponotatus (Richardson, 1842).
• Blueline snapper, Lutjanus coeruleolineatus (Rüppell, 1838).
• Colorado snapper, Lutjanus colorado Jordan & Gilbert, 1882.
• Cubera snapper, Lutjanus cyanopterus (Cuvier, 1828).
• Checkered snapper, Lutjanus decussatus (Cuvier, 1828).
• African brown snapper, Lutjanus dentatus (Duméril, 1861).
• Sunbeam snapper, Lutjanus dodecacanthoides (Bleeker, 1854).
• Blackspot snapper, Lutjanus ehrenbergii (Peters, 1869).
• Guinea snapper, Lutjanus endecacanthus Bleeker, 1863.
• Crimson snapper, Lutjanus erythropterus Bloch, 1790.
• Golden African snapper, Lutjanus fulgens (Valenciennes, 1830).
• Dory snapper, Lutjanus fulviflamma (Forsskål, 1775).
• Blacktail snapper, Lutjanus fulvus (Forster, 1801).
• Freshwater snapper, Lutjanus fuscescens (Valenciennes, 1830).
• Humpback red snapper, Lutjanus gibbus (Forsskål, 1775).
• Papuan black snapper, Lutjanus goldiei (Macleay, 1882).
• Gorean snapper, Lutjanus goreensis (Valenciennes, 1830).
• Mangrove snapper, Lutjanus griseus (Linnaeus, 1758).
• Yellowfin red snapper, Lutjanus guilcheri Fourmanoir, 1959.
• Spotted rose snapper, Lutjanus guttatus (Steindachner, 1869).
• Golden snapper, Lutjanus inermis (Peters, 1869).
• Dog snapper, Lutjanus jocu (Bloch & Schneider, 1801).
• John's snapper, Lutjanus johnii (Bloch, 1792).
• Jordan's snapper, Lutjanus jordani (Gilbert, 1898).
• Bluestripe snapper, Lutjanus kasmira (Forsskål, 1775).
• Yellowstreaked snapper, Lutjanus lemniscatus (Valenciennes, 1828).
• Lunartail snapper, Lutjanus lunulatus (Park, 1797).
• Bigeye snapper, Lutjanus lutjanus Bloch, 1790.
• Indian snapper, Lutjanus madras (Valenciennes, 1831).
• Mahogany snapper, Lutjanus mahogoni (Cuvier, 1828).
• Malabar blood snapper, Lutjanus malabaricus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801).
• Pygmy snapper, Lutjanus maxweberi (Popta, 1921).
• Samoan snapper, Lutjanus mizenkoi Allen & Talbot, 1985.
• Onespot snapper, Lutjanus monostigma (Cuvier, 1828).
• Bluestriped snapper, Lutjanus notatus (Cuvier, 1828).
• Pacific cubera snapper, Lutjanus novemfasciatus Gill, 1862.
• Spotstripe snapper, Lutjanus ophuysenii (Bleeker, 1860).
• Pacific red snapper, Lutjanus peru (Nichols & Murphy, 1922).
• Southern red snapper, Lutjanus purpureus Poey, 1876.
• Five-lined snapper, Lutjanus quinquelineatus (Bloch, 1790).
• Blubberlip snapper, Lutjanus rivulatus (Cuvier, 1828).
• Yellow-lined snapper, Lutjanus rufolineatus (Valenciennes, 1830).
• Russell's snapper, Lutjanus russellii (Bleeker, 1849).
• Humphead snapper, Lutjanus sanguineus (Cuvier, 1828).
• Emperor red snapper, Lutjanus sebae (Cuvier, 1816).
• Black-banded snapper, Lutjanus semicinctus Quoy & Gaimard, 1824.
• Star snapper, Lutjanus stellatus Akazaki, 1983.
• Lane snapper, Lutjanus synagris (Linnaeus, 1758).
• Timor snapper, Lutjanus timorensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824).
• Blue and gold snapper, Lutjanus viridis (Valenciennes, 1846).
• Brownstripe red snapper, Lutjanus vitta (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824).
• Silk snapper, Lutjanus vivanus (Cuvier, 1828).
• Genus Macolor
• Midnight snapper, Macolor macularis Fowler, 1931.
• Black and white snapper, Macolor niger (Forsskål, 1775).
• Genus Ocyurus
• Yellowtail snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus (Bloch, 1791).
• Genus Paracaesio
• Japanese snapper, Paracaesio caerulea (Katayama, 1934).
• Vanuatu snapper, Paracaesio gonzalesi Fourmanoir & Rivaton, 1979.
• Saddle-back snapper, Paracaesio kusakarii Abe, 1960.
• Paracaesio paragrapsimodon Anderson & Kailola, 1992.
• Dirty ordure snapper, Paracaesio sordida Abe & Shinohara, 1962.
• Cocoa snapper, Paracaesio stonei Raj & Seeto, 1983.
• Paracaesio waltervadi Anderson & Collette, 1992.
• Yellowtail blue snapper, Paracaesio xanthura (Bleeker, 1869).
• Genus Parapristipomoides
• Scalemouth jobfish, Parapristipomoides squamimaxillaris (Kami, 1973).
• Genus Pinjalo
• Slender pinjalo, Pinjalo lewisi Randall, Allen & Anderson, 1987.
• Pinjalo, Pinjalo pinjalo (Bleeker, 1850).
• Genus Pristipomoides
• Wenchman, Pristipomoides aquilonaris (Goode & Bean, 1896).
• Ornate jobfish, Pristipomoides argyrogrammicus (Valenciennes, 1832).
• Goldflag jobfish, Pristipomoides auricilla (Jordan, Evermann & Tanaka, 1927).
• Crimson jobfish, Pristipomoides filamentosus (Valenciennes, 1830).
• Golden eye jobfish, Pristipomoides flavipinnis Shinohara, 1963.
• Slender wenchman, Pristipomoides freemani Anderson, 1966.
• Cardinal snapper, Pristipomoides macrophthalmus (Müller & Troschel, 1848).
• Goldbanded jobfish, Pristipomoides multidens (Day, 1871).
• Lavender jobfish, Pristipomoides sieboldii (Bleeker, 1854).
• Sharptooth jobfish, Pristipomoides typus Bleeker, 1852.
• Oblique-banded snapper, Pristipomoides zonatus (Valenciennes, 1830).
• Genus Randallichthys
• Randall's snapper, Randallichthys filamentosus (Fourmanoir, 1970).
• Genus Rhomboplites
• Vermilion snapper, Rhomboplites aurorubens (Cuvier, 1829).
• Genus Symphorichthys
• Sailfin snapper, Symphorichthys spilurus (Günther, 1874).
• Genus Symphorus
• Chinamanfish, Symphorus nematophorus (Bleeker, 1860).

References

• Paulin, Chris D. "Pagrus auratus, a new combination for the species known as "snapper" in Australasian waters (Pisces: Sparidae)". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1990, 24:259-265. http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjmfr/1990/26.php