The silk snapper was first formally described in 1828 as Mesoprion vivanus by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier with the type locality given as Martinique.

A feature differentiating this species from similar sympatric congeners is the vivid yellow iris.

The Juveniles have a black or red spot on the upper flanks just underneath the origin of the dorsal fin.

[1] The silk snapper occurs on the edge of continental and island shelves over substrates of sand, gravel, and coral.

[7] They spawn over much of the year in lower latitudes, but are spring and summer spawners in the more temperate parts of their range.

Fishers use traps, hook and line and sometimes bottom trawls, especially as bycatch in shrimp fisheries in Mexico.

[1] There have been reports of cases of ciguatera poisoning related to the consumption of the flesh of the silk snapper.