Snappers make up a conspicuous portion of the fish life on most reefs at Kwaj. Generally medium to large in size, some are schooling, their large numbers making them even mnore obvious. Members of the family are carnivorous, often on crustaceans but some on fish. Therefore, they can at times cause ciguatera poisoning if eaten by humans. Unless otherwise noted, sizes given are maximum sizes for the species listed in Fishbase, not necessarily the size of the figured specimen.
There are a few other snappers we have not personally seen but which have been reported from the Marshalls. Most of the reports were from Randall et al (2005) and many were from the specimens in markets of fish often caught by deeper water bottom fishing. These include (links to Fishbase):
Lutjanus
rufolineatus
(Valenciennes, 1830)
Paracaesio
xanthura
(Bleeker, 1869)
Pristipomoides
auricilla
(Jordan, Evermann & Tanaka, 1927)
Pristipomoides
filamentosus (Valenciennes,
1830)
Pristipomoides
zonatus (Valenciennes,
1830)
Randallichthys
filamentosus
(Fourmanoir, 1970)
Randall, John E., Robert F. Myers, Michael N. Trevor, Scott R. Johnson, Jeanette L. Johnson, Satoshi Yoshii, & Brian D. Greene. 2005. Ninety-one new records of fishes from the Marshall Islands. Aqua 9(3):115-132.
All photos are protected by copyright. Please contact uwkwaj@yahoo.com for more information on purchase, use, or redistribution of any photos.
