Common Name
Barred Grunt
Year Described
Linnaeus, 1758
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XI, 12-13
Anal Fin: III, 7-8
Gill Rakers: 12-14 (lower limb of first arch)
Lateral Line Scales: 50-53
Body moderately elongate with a straight forehead profile. Mouth relatively small. Preopercle serrate with two strong spines at angle. Soft dorsal and anal fins with scales on membranes. There are 5 scale rows above the lateral line at the first dorsal spine and 11 below it.
Color
Body brownish above, grading to white on the belly. Several horizontal yellow stripes on body (most defined dorsally) and eight vertical dark bars from opercle to caudal peduncle. Fins yellow to yellow-brown.
Size
Maximum size to 75cm TL. Common to 45cm TL.
Habitat
Coastal hard bottom habitats and coral reefs.
Range
Florida to Brazil, including the Caribbean Sea. Also Bermuda. May not be present in the SW Caribbean.
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.