[2] Bloch erroneously stated that the type locality for L. lutjanus was Japan when the name he gave it suggested that it was collected in the East Indies.

[3] A taxonomic study of snappers within the subfamily Lutjaninae in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean indicated that the monotypic genera Ocyurus and Rhomboplites sit within the genus Lutjanus.

[4] Lutjanus ambiguus is considered by some authorities to most likely to be a hybrid between L. synagris and Ocyurus chrysurus, supporting the close relation between the two genera.

[5] Currently, 73 recognized species are placed in this genus:[6][7] Lutjanus snappers are small to large in size with oblong shaped bodies which vary from deep to slender and fusiform in form.

They are often marked with a large blackish spot on upper flanks underneath the front soft rays of the dorsal fin.

[12] Lutjanus snappers have a circumtropical and subtropical distribution and are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

[7] Smaller Lutjanus species are often observed in large, diurnal aggregations which stay near the reef, these disperse at night to feed.