Lutjanidae, or snappers are a family of perciformfish, mainly marine, but with some members inhabiting estuaries, feeding in fresh water. The family includes about 113 species. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapper.
Snappers inhabit tropical and subtropical regions of all oceans. Some snappers grow up to about 1 m (3.3 ft) in length, and one specific snapper, the cubera snapper, grows up to 1.52 m (5 ft 0 in) in length.[2] Most are active carnivores, feeding on crustaceans or other fish,[3] though a few are plankton-feeders. They can be kept in aquaria, but mostly grow too fast to be popular aquarium fish. Most species live at depths reaching 100 m (330 ft) near coral reefs, but some species are found up to 500 m (1,600 ft) deep.[3]
Five-lined snapper (Lutjanus quinquelineatus), northeast coast of Taiwan
As with other fish, snappers harbour parasites. A detailed study conducted in New Caledonia has shown that coral reef-associated snappers harbour about 9 species of parasites per fish species.[4]
Some authorities classify the Caesionidae, the fusiliers, within the Lutjanidae as a fifth subfamily but the 5th Edition of Fishes of the World retains this grouping as a distinct family pending more work being conducted on its relationships.[5]
