Biology: 5 Reef Animals

These are some of my favorite reef animals and some facts about them.

1. Yellow tail snapper


Where found: juveniles INSHORE on grassbeds and back reefs; adults NEARSHORE or OFFSHORE over sandy areas near reefs.
Description: back and upper sides olive to bluish with yellow spots; lower sides and belly with alternating narrow, longitudinal pink and yellow stripes; prominent midlateral yellow stripe begins at mouth and runs to tail, broadening as it passes the dorsal fins; caudal fin yellow and deeply forked; no dark lateral spot.

The scientific name a of the wellowtail snapper roughly translates to "swift-swimming golden fish".

The yellowtail snapper is distributed from North Carolina to southeastern Brazil, but most abundant in the Bahamas, off south Florida and in the Caribbean.

Most females are sexually mature by age 3, when they are at least 9 inches.

The majority of animals making up the diet are found on the bottom. Most western Atlantic snappers feed predominantly on benthic fish and large invertebrates.

Sources: www.csulb.edu
www.safmc.net