The burrito grunt (''Anisotremus interruptus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, a grunt belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Haemulidae Haemulidae is a family of fishes in the order Perciformes known commonly as grunts. It is made up of the two subfamilies Haemulinae (grunters) and Plectorhynchinae (sweetlips), which in turn contain about 133 species in 19 genera. These fish ar ...

. It is native to the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

waters of the eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

area.

Description

The burrito grunt has a deep, compressed body with a high back. The head is short and blunt with a small, low, horizontal mouth which has fleshy lips and jaws which are equipped with bands of teeth. The outer band of teeth are conical in shape. The back is silvery, yellowish brown fading to cream or white in the underparts. The scales on the flanks have dark centres creating a spotted effect with yellowish fins. The dorsal fin is continuous but has a deep notch. The dorsal fin has 12-13 spines, the fourth being longer than the rest, and 16-17 rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines, with the second being notably robust and long, and 8-9 soft rays. The pectoral fins are long, extending to the origin of the anal fins. The caudal fin is forked. This species attains a maximum total length of , although is more common. The largest weight recorded is .

Distribution

The burrito grunt is found in the eastern Pacific Oceans from central Baja and the Gulf of California to Peru and the Galapagos Islands,

Cocos Island Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarenas ...

Malpelo Island Malpelo is a small oceanic island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, located about west of the Colombian mainland with a military post manned by the Colombian Armed Forces. It consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks, the highest ...

and the

Revillagigedo Islands The Revillagigedo Islands ( es, Islas Revillagigedo, ) or Revillagigedo Archipelago are a group of four volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, known for their unique ecosystem. They lie approximately from Socorro Island south and southwest of C ...

, it is, however, absent from

Clipperton Island Clipperton Island ( or ; ) is an uninhabited, coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is from Paris, France, from Papeete, Tahiti, and from Mexico. It is an Overseas France, overseas state private property of France under direct authori ...

Habitat and biology

The burrito grunt can be found at depths of (usually not below ) on

reefs A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

, shoals spend the day hiding in crevices or caves during coming out at night to feed. it feeds largely on benthic invertebrates.

Systematics

The burrito grunt was first formally described in 1862 as ''Genytremus interruptus'' by the American ichthyologist Theodore Nicholas Gill (1837-1914) with the type locality given as Baja California. The specific name ''interruptus'' means “broken”, a reference to the broken line on the flanks of juveniles.

Utilisation

The burrito grunt is not abundant enough to be a target of commercial fisheries but when it is caught its flesh is said to palatable.

References

External links

marinespecies.orgEncyclopedia of Life
* {{DEFAULTSORT:grunt, burrito burrito grunt Western Central American coastal fauna Galápagos Islands coastal fauna burrito grunt Taxa named by Theodore Gill