Cubera Snapper
Cubera Snapper (Lutjanus cyanopterus) is a saltwater species. The first thing to check: a crescent-shaped patch of teeth on the roof of the mouth with no rearward extension — a mangrove snapper's patch has a distinct backward projection. The look-alike to rule out is Mangrove Snapper: the tooth patch is the reliable check: mangrove snapper have a rearward extension on the vomerine patch, cubera do not. Small cubera and large mangroves overlap in size and colour.
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| Scientific name | Lutjanus cyanopterus |
|---|---|
| Also called | cuban snapper, Cuban dog snapper |
| Water | Saltwater |
| Group | Snapper |
| Temperature | Common between 72 and 84 °F. |
How to identify a Cubera Snapper
- A crescent-shaped patch of teeth on the roof of the mouth with no rearward extension — a mangrove snapper's patch has a distinct backward projection.
- Very large canine teeth, prominent enough to see with the mouth closed, on a broad heavy head.
- By far the largest Atlantic snapper, with a thick, deep body and dusky grey to reddish-brown flanks.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Mangrove Snapper | The tooth patch is the reliable check: mangrove snapper have a rearward extension on the vomerine patch, cubera do not. Small cubera and large mangroves overlap in size and colour. |
| Dog Snapper | Dog snapper carry a pale triangular bar under the eye and stay much smaller. |
Side-by-side comparisons
Read the full entry for Mangrove Snapper.
Where it lives
South Florida, the Keys, the Gulf and the Caribbean, on deep wrecks, ledges and reef, with the largest fish holding on isolated structure.
Temperature
Common between 72 and 84 °F.
The conditions that matter
Cubera aggregate to spawn around the summer full moons on specific deep structure, and those few nights account for most of the very large fish caught each year. Outside that they are solitary and structure-bound. Moon phase and tide on every catch is the record that finds the aggregation again.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about cubera snapper into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.