Description:
Red snappers are large and somewhat deep-bodied, growing to 30 - 36 inches (80-90 cm) in length and weighing as much as 50 pounds.  Body color is typically scarlet to red dorsally, fading to pink or rose along the sides, often with a silvery sheen.  Fins are typically red or red-orange, usually with dusky edges.  The head is large, with a steeply sloping profile, long snout, and large, terminal mouth.  There is a single, continuous dorsal fin.  The pectoral fins are long, reaching beyond the origin of the anal fin.  The caudal fin is weakly lunate, but is not forked.   There are generally 47 - 49 scales along the lateral line.  Fishes less than 12 inches in length usually have a dark spot set below the soft rays of the dorsal fin in the upper sides.

Habitat:
Red snappers generally inhabit rock and reef areas, either naturally occurring or man-made, in depths ranging from  32 - 220 feet (10 - 200 meters).  Juveniles tend to be found in shallower waters, generally over sand or mud bottoms.

Range:
Red snappers range from Massachusetts south through Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan, but they are most common south of the Carolinas.