Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish - Macaw Pets store

The yellowtail snapper is a member of the Lutjanidae family
of snapper, a colorful tropical reef fish, and an excellent
sportfish with superb meat.
Identification. The yellowtail snapper has a streamlined
body that is olive or bluish-gray above and silver to white
below. It has fine yellowish stripes on the belly. Most striking
is the prominent mid-body yellow stripe, which runs
from the tip of the snout through each eye to the tail,
widening as it extends past the dorsal fins. The tail is bright
yellow and deeply forked, and the dorsal fins are mostly yellowish.
There is no dark lateral spot, and the eyes are red.
Size/Age. The yellowtail snapper usually grows 1 to 2 feet
long and commonly weighs up to 3 pounds, although it
rarely exceeds 5 pounds. It can reach 30 inches and 7
pounds, and a Florida fish that weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces
is the all-tackle world record. The yellowtail snapper can live
for 14 years.
Life history/Behavior. Some yellowtail snapper are sexually
mature at age 2; all are mature at age 4. Spawning
occurs from April through August, and activity peaks in June
and July. Yellowtail snapper move into deeper water, where
each female will produce from 11,000 to more than 1.5
million pelagic eggs.
Food and feeding habits. Yellowtail snapper feed mainly
at night on benthic and pelagic animals, including fish,
crustaceans, and worms. Young fish feed primarily on
plankton.
Snapper, Yellowtail
Ocyrus chrysurus
OTHER NAMES
Creole: colas; French: sarde
queue jaune; Portuguese:
cioba, mulata; Spanish:
rabirrubia.
Distribution. In the tropical
western Atlantic, yellowtail
snapper range from
Massachusetts and
Bermuda to southeastern
Brazil, including the Gulf of
Mexico. They are abundant
in the Bahamas, in southern
Florida, and throughout the
Caribbean but are rare
north of the Carolinas.
Habitat. Inhabiting tropical
coastal waters with
depths of 10 to 300 feet,
yellowtail snapper occur
around coral reefs, either
alone or in loose schools,
and are usually seen well
above the bottom. Young
fish typically dwell inshore
over grassbeds.
Snapper, Yellowtail 225