What is a snapper?

   Snapper is the name given to several active, marine, carnivorous fishes of the family Lutianidae (and to some others) on account of their voracity and quick biting at food. They are related to the sea bass and drumfish. The best known and most valuable is the red snapper, Neomcenis aya, or "pargo colorado", which is known on rocky banks as far north as New York, but is very numerous in the Gulf of Mexico. It reaches a length of 2 feet or more and is one of the best of American food fishes. The gray snapper, Lutianus griseus, sometimes called gray mangrove snapper or Pensacola snapper, in Florida attains an average weight of about 2 pounds, but averages 5 pounds off Cuba.