African Striped Grunt
Parapristipoma octolineatum
Caesar Grunt
Haemulon carbonarium
About
The Caesar grunt is a common reef fish across the Caribbean that travels in schools by day and spreads out to feed after dark. It usually grows to about 20 cm, though it can reach 36 cm.
Also known as: black grunt, redmouth grunt
- Length
- 20 cm · max 36 cm
- Depth
- up to 25 m
How to tell it apart
Several striped grunts share these reefs and look similar at a glance. The black spot at the base of the tail fin is the mark that sets this species apart.
Appearance
Its body is silvery white, marked with orange-brown stripes that run along its length and are broader above the lateral line, the faint sensory line along its side. The head carries bronze-yellow stripes and spots, and the inside of the mouth is orange. Its tail fin is dark, while the anal, pectoral, and pelvic fins are clear. There is a black spot at the base of the tail fin.
Habitat
It lives on clear-water rocky and coral reefs and in mangroves across the western Atlantic, from Florida and the Bahamas through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Divers usually see it in schools at depths of 3 to 25 m.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
