Common Name
Torroto Grunt
Year Described
Cuvier, 1830
Identification
Dorsal Fin: XIII, 12
Anal Fin: III, 11
Gill Rakers: 13-14 (lower limb of first arch)
Lateral Line Scales: 51-53
Body deep with a steeply sloped forehead profile. Mouth relatively small. No median groove on chin (unique among W. Atlantic grunts). Preopercle serrate. Soft dorsal and anal fins scaleless. Scales above lateral line oblique and horizontal below. There are 11 scale rows above the lateral line at the first dorsal spine and 19 below it.
Color
Body silvery-gray with no obvious markings. Preopercle with yellow margin. Fin membranes yellowish. Dorsal, pelvic, and caudal fins with dark borders.
Size
Maximum size to 37cm TL.
Habitat
Inshore coastal waters over soft bottoms. Tolerates brackish water.
Range
Colombia to Brazil, including the extreme southern Lesser Antilles.
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
The name Genyatremus luteus (Bloch, 1790) has been used for this species.
This species is more related to certain eastern Pacific species than it is to Atlantic Anisotremus spp.