| Black and white snapper | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Lutjanidae |
| Genus: | Macolor |
| Species: | M. niger |
| Binomial name | |
| Macolor niger (Forsskål, 1775) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
The black and white snapper (Macolor niger), the black and white seaperch or black snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
The black and white snapper was first formally described in 1775 as Sciaena nigra by the Swedish speaking Finnish-born explorer and naturalist Peter Forsskål with the type locality given as Jeddah. [3] The specific name niger means “black”, a reference to the blackish colour of the adults. [4] When the genus Macolor was described in 1860, by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist, Pieter Bleeker, he used the name Macolor tautonymously, for the type species which was Cuvier’s Diacope macolor. Bleeker needlessly renamed D. macolor, Macolor typus. [5]
The black and white snapper has a relatively deep body. It has a convex dorsal profile of the head and a large mouth which extends back to the front of the eye. Each jaw has an outer band of conical teeth which are enlarged into canine-like teeth at the front, on the inside of these are bands of bristle-like teeth, at the side in the upper jaw and set anteriorly in the lower jaw. The vomerine teeth are arranged a rough chevron with no a median posterior extension. There is a deep incision on the lower margin of the preoperculum. [6] The dorsal fin contains 10 spines and 13-15 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 10-11 soft rays. [2] The rear tips of both the dorsal and anal fins are clearly pointed. The pectoral fins are long, extending as far as the anus, containing 17-18 fin rays and the caudal fin is emarginate. [6] The black and white snapper can reach a maximum total length of 75 cm (30 in), though most do not exceed 35 cm (14 in). Its fins and eyes are black and its body varies in color from light grey to black depending on age. Juveniles are typically striped, changing in complete black when adult. [2]
The black and white snapper has a wide Indo-Pacific range. It occurs along the eastern coastline of Africa from the Red Sea south as far as South Africa, the Seychelles, islands in the Mozambique Channel, Madagascar and western Mascarenes, east to the Maldives, Laccadives, the Chagos Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Islandand Sri Lanka. In the Pacific it occurs from western Malaysia, western Indonesia and the Andaman Sea east to the Marshall Islands, Samoa and Tonga south to Australia north to central Japan. It has also recorded from Niue and the Cook Islands. It is found at depths between 2 and 90 m (6 ft 7 in and 295 ft 3 in) around the steep outer slopes of lagoon reefs, channels and on the seaward slopes. [1]
The black and white snapper are solitary as juveniles, while adults aggregate in large schools. It is a predatory fish which preys on fishes and crustaceans. This species gathers in aggregations to spawn. [1] This species is frequently confused with its congener the midnight snapper (M. macularis) with which it is known to form mixed aggregations. [7]
Black and white snapper are prized as food fish and are caught commercially, as well as recreationally. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade. [2]
Macolor is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, snappers belonging to the family Lutjanidae. They are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.
The Japanese snapper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Western Pacific Ocean.
The bigeye snapper, also known as the bigeye seaperch, red sea lined snapper, golden striped snapper, rosy snapper, yellow snapper, or simply snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is the type species of the genus Lutjanus.
The humpback red snapper, the paddletail, paddletail snapper or hunchback snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It has a wide Indo-West Pacific distribution. It is a commercially important species, as well as being sought after as a game fish. It is also a popular species for display in public aquaria. It has been reported to cause ciguatera poisoning.
Aphareus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, snappers belonging to the family Lutjanidae. They are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans from the African coast to the Hawaiian Islands.
The Mexican barred snapper, also known as the barred pargo, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the only species in its genus
Tang's snapper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. They inhabit areas of the continental shelf with rocky substrates at depths from 90 to 340 m. This species grows to 60 cm (24 in) in total length. It is a commercially important species as a food fish. This species is the only known member of its genus.
Randall's snapper is a species of ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region.
Pristipomoides typus, also known as the sharptooth jobfish, white snapper, white jobfish, goldband snapper or threadfin snapper, is a species of ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Lutjanus rivulatus, the blubberlip snapper, Maori snapper, blue-spotted seaperch, Maori bream, Maori seaperch, multi-coloured snapper, scribbled snapper, speckled snapper or yellowfin snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean and into the Pacific Ocean.
Pristipomoides sieboldii, the lavender jobfish, lavender snapper or von Siebold’s snapper, is a species of ray-finned fish, which is a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Pristipomoides multidens, the goldbanded jobfish or goldbanded snapper, is a species of ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Pristipomoides flavipinnis, the golden eye jobfish or golden eye snapper, is a species of ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean.
Pristipomoides auricilla, the goldflag jobfish or the yellow flower snapper, is a species of ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
Macolor macularis, the midnight snapper, midnight seaperch or black and white snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
Lutjanus russellii, Russell's snapper, Moses snapper, fingermark bream, Moses seaperch or Russell's sea-perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Pacific Ocean.
Lutjanus fulvus, the blacktail snapper, flametail snapper, redmargined seaperch, Waigeu snapper or yellowmargined sea perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indo-West Pacific region. It is an important species for fisheries within its range.
Lutjanus johnii, John's snapper, the golden snapper,big-scaled bream, fingermark bream, fingermark seaperch, John's sea-perch, or spotted-scale sea perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Etelis carbunculus, the deep-water red snapper, ruby snapper or longtail snapper, is a species of ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Gorean snapper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
