VERMILION SNAPPER, BEE LINER Rhomboplites aurorubens
Body large, color pinkish-red, vomerine tooth patch on the roof of the mouth anchor-shaped. Canine teeth and a maxilla (external upper jaw bone) that slips into a groove in the cheek distinguish snappers from the porgies (e.g. red porgy, Pagrus pagrus). More common on deeper reefs, it is occasionally seen at Gray's Reef. Massachusetts to Yucatan. 30 in.
VERMILION SNAPPER, BEE LINER Rhomboplites aurorubens
Body small and relatively slender, color vermilion red to pink color above becoming silvery whitish below, large number of dorsal spines (12 instead of 10), and rhomboid-shaped vomerine tooth patch on the roof of the mouth. Like the red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) it is more common on deeper reefs but schools of juveniles are not uncommon at Gray's Reef. North Carolina to Brazil. 15 in.
Family Priacanthidae(bigeyes)
BIGEYE Priacanthus arenatus
Eyes large, body compressed, color reddish, mouth oblique, dorsal and anal fins each with 12-15 rays and scales small (more than 60 in lateral line). The glasseye snapper (Priacanthus cruentatus) another bigeye, has also been reported from the Georgia coast and is easily distinguished by a strong preopercular (anterior gill cover) spine. A nocturnal predator, it seeks cover during the day. Massachusetts to Argentina. 11 in.
SHORT BIGEYE Pseudopriacanttltus (= Pristigenys) alta
Similar to the bigeye (Priacanthus aeronauts) it has a deeper body, fewer rays in the dorsal and anal fins (9-11 in each), and bigger scales (fewer than 40 in lateral line). Like the bigeye it is a nocturnal predator, preferring the cover of small depressions in the reef by day. Maine to South America. 9 in.
Family Holocentridae (squirrelfishes)
SQUIRRELFISH Holocentrus ascensionis
Eyes large, scales large and spiny, dorsal and anal fin spines and spines on the preoperculum robust, color reddish, dorsal fin yellowish orange. Normally seen under ledges or in crevices during the day, it is a nocturnal predator that feeds on worms and invertebrates that emerge from the reef and sand at night. New York to Brazil. 7-9 in.