Abstract

Species from the family Lutjanidae, commonly known as snappers, represent one of the major resources for marine fisheries. This family consists of 5 subfamilies, 21 genera, and nearly 120 species. They represent most important components of the reef fisheries in tropical and subtropical latitudes. Despite the importance of the family, the high number of species and its worldwide distribution, exploration of the taxonomic identification, early life history and phylogenetic relationships of lutjanids is far from complete and continually under review. New species have been identified recently and species previously described as valid have been recognized as natural intergeneric hybrids of lutjanids. The high similarity of morphology, and crossbreeding within lutjanids increases taxonomic uncertainty. Conventionally, phylogeny, ontogenet-ic descriptions, and species identification of lutjanids relied on morphological features. Molecular methods, proven to be useful when morphological methods do not succeed, are becoming useful tools for taxonomic identification. We used DNA sequence data of the 12S rRNA mitochondrial gene to generate a molecular identification key for 15 species of lutjanids. DNA data from a sample of a lutjanid with morphological descriptions suggestive of a hybrid between Lutjanus jocu and Ocyurus chrysurus was compared to our molecular key. DNA from this specimen shared 100% identity with adult voucher consensus sequences for Lutjanus jocu. The validity of the genus Ocyurus has been discussed and investigated, leading some authors to propose the synonymization of Ocyurus with the genus Lutjanus. The data obtained in this study reinforce the proposal to synonymize Ocyurus with Lutjanus.

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