Sealife guideThe white gruntHaemulon plumierii
Taxonomy
- Common name: White grunt, black grunt, boar grunt, flannelmouth grunt, Key West grunt, redmouth grunt, white snapper
- French name: Gorette blanche
- Spanish name: Chac-chí
- Scientific name: Haemulon plumierii (Lacepède, 1801)
- Family name: Haemulidae
- Order name: Perciformes
- Class name: Actinopterygii
Description
The white grunt is a medium-sized fish, about 12 inches long, with a maximum length of around 20 inches. It has an oblong body that is silver-white with numerous fine horizontal yellow stripes. Its pelvic, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are all entirely yellow.
The white grunt prefers steep drop-offs or rocky overhangs
A series of blue horizontal stripes runs across the head of the white grunt, alternating with the yellow stripes.
Range
The white grunt is commonly found in the Caribbean sea, the Gulf of Mexico and along the coasts of Florida. It inhabits the tropical waters of the western Atlantic, from Florida in the north to the coasts of Brazil in the south, including many Caribbean islands such as the Bahamas and
Guadeloupe.
Habitat
The white grunt typically lives in shallow waters, from the surface down to about 130 feet. It forms schools of varying but dense sizes around coral reefs, along rocky substrates or above sandy bottoms. The white grunt does not travel extensively with the seasons or throughout its life and generally stays in the same area.
Diet
The white grunt is a carnivorous fish that primarily feeds at night on a variety of small bottom-dwelling invertebrates like shrimp, as well as smaller fish.
Besides recreational and commercial fishing, the white grunt is often preyed upon by larger fish such as snappers, groupers and sharks.
Reproduction
The white grunt reproduces sexually. Across its range, the spawning period extends nearly throughout the year, with a peak activity lasting two months but occurring at different times depending on the geographic location.
Did you know ?
Its common english name « grunt » refers to the sounds the fish makes, which resemble the grunts of a pig. This sound is produced by the fish's well-developed teeth located in its throat.
The white grunt has a predominantly silver color with numerous fine horizontal yellow stripes
Grunts are related to snappers but are generally smaller and have more deeply forked tails.
The white grunt is listed as many other marine species within The
IUCN Red List of threatened species. The white grunt appears in the
IUCN Red List since 2016 within the category Least Concern !
Within the same genus
Smallmouth grunt
(Haemulon chrysargyreum)
Blue striped grunt
(Haemulon sciurus)
French grunt
(Haemulon flavolineatum)
Cottonwick grunt
(Haemulon melanurum)
Within the same family
Oriental sweetlips
(Plectorhinchus vittatus)
Blackspotted rubberlips
(Plectorhinchus gaterinus)
Diagonal-banded Sweetlip
(Plectorhinchus lineatus)
Ribboned sweetlips
(Plectorhinchus polytaenia)
Harlequin sweetlips
(Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides)
Painted sweetlips
(Diagramma pictum)
Porkfish
(Anisotremus virginicus)
Black margate
(Anisotremus surinamensis)
Explore also
Gilt-head sea bream
(Sparus aurata)
Bluescaled wrasse
(Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura)
Two spined angelfish
(Centropyge bispinosa)
Swarthy Parrotfish
(Scarus niger)
Yellow banded pipefish
(Dunckerocampus pessuliferus)
Bengal snapper
(Lutjanus bengalensis)
Sailfin snapper
(Symphorichthys spilurus)
Sand tilefish
(Malacanthus plumieri)
The marine species from Caribbean sea
Giant caribbean anemone
(Condylactis gigantea)
Gray angelfish
(Pomacanthus arcuatus)
Great barracuda
(Sphyraena barracuda)
Green sea turtle
(Chelonia mydas)
Hawksbill sea turtle
(Eretmochelys imbricata)
Honeycomb cowfish
(Acanthostracion polygonium)
Longspine squirrelfish
(Holocentrus rufus)
Red cushion sea star
(Oreaster reticulatus)
Dive centers
'Les Ilets' dive center
Noa dive center
