The dog snapper was first formally described in 1801 as Anthias jocu by the German naturalists Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Schneider with no type locality given, although this is thought to be Havana.

[5] A pair of very enlarged canine-like teeth in the upper jaw stay visible when the mouth is closed.

[2] The adults have olive green upper flanks and backs, which may be marked with slender light-coloured bars.

[6] Dog snapper is mainly found in the western Atlantic Ocean where there range extends from Massachusetts south to São Paulo in Brazil, including the Bermuda, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico and from Saint Paul's Rocks south to Principe in the eastern Atlantic.

[9] Adults are generally found around rocky outcrops or coral reefs, while juveniles tend to remain primarily within estuaries and occasionally within rivers.

[6][11][12] Dog snappers have their main breeding grounds off Jamaica and in the northeastern Caribbean where they typically spawn during March.

Little is known about the development of the larvae until the post-larval stage finally settles into suitable habitat where it gains a measure of protection from predators.

[13] The dog snapper has been known to be ciguatoxic, especially the larger specimens, and in areas where this is known there is little interest in fishing for this species.