Common Name
Smallmouth Grunt
Year Described
Günther, 1859
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XII, 12-14 (usually 13)
Anal Fin: III, 9-10 (usually 9)
Gill Rakers: 30-33 (total on first arch)
Lateral Line Scales: 49-51
Mouth small. Soft dorsal and anal fins almost completely scaled. Scale rows under lateral line parallel to body axis.
Color
Body pearly white to sky blue with five brilliant yellow stripes on the body. The middle three stripes meet on the eye, one is along the dorsum, and the last runs from the lower head to the anal fin. The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are yellow. The pelvic and pectoral fins are pale whitish.
Size
Common to 15cm TL. Maximum size to 23cm TL.
Habitat
Reef associated (rocky and coral), usually less than 30m. Often in large schools, where they feed on plankton and small crustaceans.
Range
S. Florida to Brazil, including the S. Gulf of Mexico and the entire Caribbean Sea.
References
Lindeman, K.C. 2002. Haemulidae (pp. 1522-1550). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO of the U.N., Rome.
Other Notes
Used to be classified in the genus Haemulon.