Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes
(Perch-likes) > Lutjanidae
(Snappers) > Lutjaninae
Etymology: Rhomboplites: Greek, rhombos = paralelogram + Greek, hoplon, hoplites = with a shield (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; demersal; depth range 40 - 300 m (Ref. 9626), usually 40 - 100 m (Ref. 9626). Subtropical; 42°N - 33°S, 99°W - 30°W (Ref. 55)
Western Atlantic: Bermuda and North Carolina, USA, to São Paulo, Brazil (Ref. 57756), including West Indies, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea (Anderson, pers. comm.).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 15 - 23 cm
Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26938); common length : 35.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 55); max. published weight: 3.2 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 10 years (Ref. 3090)
(total): 12 - 13;
soft rays: 8. Snout short, lower jaw slightly projecting. Mouth small. Pectoral fins relatively short, not reaching level of anus. Scale rows on back rising obliquely above lateral line. Back and upper sides vermilion, shading to silvery with reddish tinge ventrally, with narrow horizontal yellow lines below the lateral line. The dorsal and caudal fins yellowish; the anal and pelvic fins whitish.
Adults are found in moderately deep waters, most common over rock, gravel or sand bottoms near the edge of the continental and island shelves, often in large schools. Young fish occur in shallower depths (below 25 m), also often forming large schools. They feed on fishes, shrimps, crabs, polychaetes, other benthic invertebrates, cephalopods and planktonic organisms. Good food fish (Ref. 9626).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Spawning occurs over most of the year with peak activity during spring and summer, at least in the northern part of the range (Puerto Rico to the Carolinas).
Allen, G.R., 1985. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 6. Snappers of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lutjanid species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(6):208 p. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 55)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 115941)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: minor commercial
Estimates of some properties based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 18.3 - 27.2, mean 23.9 (based on 185 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01514 (0.01319 - 0.01737), b=2.97 (2.93 - 3.01), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.4 ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.20; tm=3; tmax=10).
Prior r = 0.45, 2 SD range = 0.23 - 0.88, log(r) = -0.8, SD log(r) = 0.33, Based on: 1 M, 2 K, 1 tgen, 1 tmax, records
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate to high vulnerability (50 of 100) .