Common Name
French Grunt
Year Described
Desmarest, 1823
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XII, 14-15
Anal Fin: III, 8
Gill Rakers: 22-24 (total on first arch)
Lateral Line Scales: 47-50
Soft dorsal and anal fins almost completely scaled. Scale rows under lateral line oblique to body axis. Scales above lateral line about half the size of those under it.
Color
Body and head pearly white to pale blue with numerous yellow stripes about as wide as the interspaces. The stripes are horizontal on the head and above the lateral line but are oblique immediately underneath the lateral line. The stripes become thinner and less obvious ventrally and often break up into spots on the lower head. Eye sky blue in life. All fins are bright yellow.
Size
Common to 20cm TL. Maximum size to 30cm TL.
Habitat
Reef associated (rocky and coral), to around 40m depth. Often forms large schools near the bottom.
Range
South Carolina to Brazil, including the S. Gulf of Mexico and the entire Caribbean Sea. Also Bermuda.
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.