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Mutton snapper swimming in a sandy hard-botom area.  Photo courtesy of V.O. Skinner, California State University Long Beach. 

Synonymy:
Mesoprion analis Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1828

Other Taxonomic Groupings:
Superclass: Osteichthyes
Subclass: Neopterygii
Infraclass: Teleostei
Superorder: Acanthopterygii

Potentially Misidentified Species:
Lutjanus analis is similar to a related species, the lane snapper, L. synagris.  The two are differentiated based on the shape of the anal fin:  in L. analis  the anal fin is pointed, while in L. synagris, it is rounded. 

Species Description:
Lutjanus analis is a deep-bodied and compressed snapper that may reach lengths of 30 – 77 cm (1 - 2.5 feet).  It is common in inland and nearshore waters to approximately 6.8 kg (15 pounds).  The dorsal fin is continuous with 9 - 11 (usually 10) slender dorsal spines, the fourth of which is the longest.  The angulate soft dorsal fin has 13-14 rays.  The caudal fin is deeply emarginate.  The anal fin is pointed and has 3 spines, the second and third equal in length, and 8 anal rays.   The pectoral fins are long, reaching past the anus.   Scales are small and ctenoid, with 47-51 lateral lines scales.  There are 12-13 gill rakers on the lower limb of the gill arch.  The head profile is steep and straight to the tip of the snout.  The eyes are small.  The mouth is large and terminal, with the maxilla just reaching the front of the orbit.  The upper and lower jaws, as well as the vomer have bands of villiform teeth.  In addition, the upper jaw has 6 canine teeth, 4 of which are enlarged.  The preopercule is coarsely serrated along its entire edge, and is shallowly notched at the angle.  Body color is variable depending upon the activity of the fish.  Adults are olive green dorsally, becoming paler laterally and ventrally.  The ventral surface is reddish, as are all of the fins.   The margin of the caudal fin is black.  The snout bears an irregular blue line that reaches the posterior of the eye.  A second blue line runs from the maxilla to the eye.  A prominent black spot lies above the lateral line below the soft portion of the dorsal fin.  When not active, the mutton snapper may evhibit a series of 10-12 dark vertical bars that run the length of the body. 

II.  HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION 

Regional Occurrence:
In the Western Atlantic, ranges from approximately Massachusetts south to Brazil including Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean.  It is most abundant off south Florida, the Bahamas, and the Antilles (Allen 1985). 

IRL Distribution:
Lutjanus analis is common throughout the Indian River Lagoon in seagrass beds, mangrove creeks and canals.  Larger fishes and mature adults are generally found in offshore waters. 

III. LIFE HISTORY AND POPULATION BIOLOGY

Age, Size, Lifespan:
Mutton snapper grow to a maximum reported size of 94.0 cm (37 inches) total length (TL) (IGFA 2001) and may weigh as much as 15.6 kg (34.4 pounds).  They live as long as 29 years (Bortone and Williams 1986). 

Reproduction:
As with most snappers, Lutjanus analis spawns offshore in groups (Wicklund 1969;  Thompson and Munro 1974).  It matures at approximately 40 - 50 cm (15.7 - 19.6 inches) (Allen 1985).  Spawning typically occurs in July and August.   

Rojas (1960) estimated fecundity in a 512 mm (20.2 inches) fork length (FL) mutton snapper as 1.4 million eggs. 

Embryology:
Like many snapper species, eggs are pelagic (Bortone and Williams 1986) and hatch after approximately 20 hours. 

IV.  PHYSICAL TOLERANCES

Temperature:
Rivas (1970) sampled Lutjanus analis from waters where temperatures ranged from 18.9 – 27.8ºC (66.0 – 82.4 ºF), with a mean water temperature of 24.8 ºC (76.6 ºF). 

V.  COMMUNITY ECOLOGY

Trophic Mode:
Most snappers are classified as euryphagic carnivores (Bortone and Williams 1986).  In the Caribbean (Randall 1967), crabs made up 44% of the diet, fish (29%), gastropods (13%), with the remainder consisting of octopods, hermit crabs and shrimp (Randall 1967;  Allen 1985). 

Predators: 
Primary predators of snappers are sharks and other large predatory fishes including other snappers (Bortone and Williams 1986). 

Habitats:
Lutjanus analis adults are typically found at depths of 40 - 59 m (140 – 194 feet) depths (Rivas 1970) where they often form small schools during daylight hours, but disband at night (Allen 1985).  Juveniles are most common in inshore waterways (Springer and McErlean 1962) where the substrate consists of sand, seagrasses, or coral rubble (Bortone and Williams 1986).  Adults tend to remain in an area once they have become established (Beaumariage 1969; Bortone and Williams 1986) and are most common in the open waters of shelf areas and around islands.  Larger adults inhabit coral reefs and rocky, hard bottom areas.   

Activity Time:
Lutjanus analis is active diurnally and nocturnally (Allen 1985; Bortone and Williams 1986).

VI. SPECIAL STATUS

Special Status:
None.

Fisheries Importance:  

          COMMERCIAL FISHERY:
The commercial fishery for mutton snapper is not of particularly high value in east central Florida, averaging less than $11,000 per year.  The statewide commercial catch of gray snapper, Lutjanus analis, between the years 1987 - 2001 was 5.5 million pounds, with a dollar value of over $9.6 million.  Within this time period however, only 92,189 pounds of mutton snapper was harvested commercially in the 5 county area encompassing the IRL (Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin Counties), with a dollar value of just $163,205 reported.  This ranks the mutton snapper sixty-fourth in commercial value within the IRL, and seventy-fifth in pounds harvested.   

Figure 1 below shows the dollar value of the commercial mutton snapper fishery to IRL counties by year.  As shown, the commercial catch ranged from a low of $5,647 in 1989 to a high of over $22,251 the next year, 1990.  Volusia County accounts for the largest percentage of the gray snapper catch with 37.3% in total (Figure 2), most of which was accounted for by the large catch in 1990.  Martin County follows with 23% of the harvest, followed by St. Lucie, Brevard and Indian River Counties, which account for 19.5%, 13.7% and 6.5% of the total respectively.  Of note are 2 particularly good harvests in Volusia County occurring in  1990 and 1998 which account for 65% and 61% of the annual catch respectively. 

Figure 1.  Annual dollar value of the commercial catch of mutton snapper to the 5-county
            area of the Indian River Lagoon. 

Figure 2.  Total mutton snapper dollar value and percentage by county for the years 1987 -
            2001.
 

Table 1.  Total dollar value of IRL mutton snapper, Lutjanus analis, between 1987 - 2001.
 

       Table 2.  By-county annual and cumulative percentages of the mutton snapper harvest for
                  the years 1987-2001.