African Striped Grunt
Parapristipoma octolineatum
Sailor's Choice
Haemulon parra
About
Sailor's choice is a silvery grunt that schools over reefs, changing its pattern completely as it grows from a striped juvenile into a spotted adult. It grows to about 41 cm, though most are closer to 30 cm.
Also known as: sailor's grunt, sand grunt, bastard margaret
- Length
- 30 cm · max 41.2 cm
- Depth
- up to 30 m
How to tell it apart
Adults can be confused with other silvery grunts, but the dotted, scale-row stripes rather than solid lines set this species apart. Striped juveniles can be told from young of other grunts by the spot on the tail fin.
Appearance
Adults are silver-grey with rows of small dark spots running along the body, following the scale rows, and the edge of the eye is often yellow or bronze. Juveniles look very different: four black stripes over a white body, with a spot on the tail fin.
Did you know?
The species name parra is Latin for 'sparrow,' an odd choice for a fish. It was given by the naturalist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest when he first described the species in 1823.
Log it in Into the Blue
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