Northern red snapper
| Northern red snapper | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acanthuriformes |
| Family: | Lutjanidae |
| Genus: | Lutjanus |
| Species: | L. campechanus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lutjanus campechanus (Poey, 1860)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The northern red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico, where it inhabits environments associated with reefs. This species is commercially important and is also sought after as a game fish.
It is closed related to Lutjanus purpureus, the southern red snapper or Caribbean red snapper, and both have been considered to be the same species in the past.