''Haemulon'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the grunt family known as the scaled-fin grunts. Most are found in the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, with a few species known from 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 ...

.Rocha, L. A. and I. L. Rosa. (1999)
New species of ''Haemulon'' (Teleostei: Haemulidae) from the northeastern Brazilian coast.
''Copeia'' (1999)2 447-52. This genus is considered to be one of the most important fish groups of the

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

due to its commercial value and crucial ecological role.Pereira, P. H. C. and B. P. Ferreira. (2012)
Agonistic behaviour among ''Haemulon'' spp. (Actinopterygii: Haemulidae) and other coral reef fishes in northeastern Brazil.
''Cybium'' 36(2) 361-67.

Species

The 23 or so species in this genus include:Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds
''Haemulon'': Species.
FishBase. 2017. * ''

Haemulon album ''Haemulon album'', the white margate, grey grunt, grunt, Margaret fish, Margaret grunt, margate, margate fish, ronco blanco, viuda, white grunt, white pogret, or yellow grunt is a species of ray-finned fish, a large grunt belonging to the family ...

G. Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, 1830 (white margate) * ''

Haemulon aurolineatum ''Haemulon'' is a genus of fish in the grunt family known as the scaled-fin grunts. Most are found in the western Atlantic Ocean, with a few species known from the eastern Pacific Ocean.Rocha, L. A. and I. L. Rosa. (1999)New species of ''Haemul ...

'' G. Cuvier, 1830 (tomtate grunt) * '' Haemulon bonariense'' G. Cuvier, 1830 (black grunt) * '' Haemulon boschmae'' ( Metzelaar, 1919) (bronzestripe grunt) * ''

Haemulon carbonarium The Caesar grunt (''Haemulon carbonarium''), also known as the black grunt, blacktail grunt, or redmouth grunt is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt in the family Haemulidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean Description The ...

'' Poey, 1860 (caesar grunt) * '' Haemulon chrysargyreum'' Günther, 1859 (smallmouth grunt) * '' Haemulon flaviguttatum'' T. N. Gill, 1862 (yellowspotted grunt) * ''

Haemulon flavolineatum ''Haemulon flavolineatum'', the French grunt, banana grunt, gold laced grunt, open-mouthed grunt, redmouth grunt, or yellow grunt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the western A ...

'' ( Desmarest, 1823) (French grunt) * '' Haemulon macrostomum'' Günther, 1859 (Spanish grunt) * '' Haemulon maculicauda'' (T. N. Gill, 1862) (spottail grunt) * '' Haemulon melanurum'' ( Linnaeus, 1758) (cottonwick grunt) * '' Haemulon parra'' ( Desmarest, 1823) (sailor's grunt) * ''

Haemulon plumierii ''Haemulon plumierii'', the white grunt or common grunt, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Haemulidae native to the western Atlantic Ocean. It grows to a length of about and is a silvery-cream color, with narrow yellow and blue longi ...

'' (

Lacépède Lacepede can refer to: * Bernard Germain de Lacépède (1756–1825), French naturalist and politician. * Lacepede Bay, a bay in South Australia. * Lacépède, Lot-et-Garonne, a ''commune'' in France * Lacepede Islands, a group of four islands in t ...

, 1801) (white grunt) * '' Haemulon schrankii''

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...

, 1831 * ''

Haemulon sciurus The bluestriped grunt (''Haemulon sciurus''), also known as the boar grunt, golden grunt, humpback grunt, redmouth grunt, or yellow grunt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is found in the weste ...

'' ( G. Shaw, 1803) (bluestriped grunt) * ''

Haemulon scudderii ''Haemulon scudderii'', the grey grunt, golden-eye grunt, or mojarra grunt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a Grunt (fish), grunt belonging to the Family (biology), family Haemulidae. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Description ...

'' T. N. Gill, 1862 (grey grunt) * ''

Haemulon serrula ''Haemulon'' is a genus of fish in the grunt family known as the scaled-fin grunts. Most are found in the western Atlantic Ocean, with a few species known from the eastern Pacific Ocean.Rocha, L. A. and I. L. Rosa. (1999)New species of ''Haemul ...

'' G. Cuvier, 1830 * '' Haemulon sexfasciatum'' T. N. Gill, 1862 (greybar grunt) * '' Haemulon squamipinna'' L. A. Rocha & I. M. L. Rosa, 1999 * ''

Haemulon steindachneri ''Haemulon'' is a genus of fish in the grunt family known as the scaled-fin grunts. Most are found in the western Atlantic Ocean, with a few species known from the eastern Pacific Ocean.Rocha, L. A. and I. L. Rosa. (1999)New species of ''Haemul ...

'' ( D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1882) (chere-chere grunt) * '' Haemulon striatum'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (striped grunt) * '' Haemulon vittatum'' (Poey, 1860) (boga)

Description

Fish of this genus are oblong in shape and have large mouths.Hong, S. L. (1977)
Review of eastern Pacific ''Haemulon'' with notes on juvenile pigmentation.
''Copeia'' 1977(3) 493-501. They have scales over the rays of their second dorsal and anal fins, and the second anal spine is larger than the third. The inside of the mouth is usually bright red. Juveniles of the genus look similar to each other, but the variation in the appearance of the adults is great.

Diet

Some ''Haemulon'' species eat

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

in the open water, but most seek small prey on the seabed.Rocha, L. A., et al. (2008)
Historical biogeography and speciation in the reef fish genus ''Haemulon'' (Teleostei: Haemulidae).
''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 48 918-28. Fish of the grunt family are nocturnal feeders, venturing in schools from the cover of the reefs around sunset to find food. The schools disperse as individuals go hunting, and then reform as morning approaches and they prepare to return to the reef.Burke, N. C. (1995)
Nocturnal foraging habitats of French and bluestriped grunts, ''Haemulon flavolineatum'' and ''H. sciurus'', at Tobacco Caye, Belize.
''Environmental Biology of Fishes'' 42 365-74.

Behaviour

''Haemulon'' species are common members of shallow reef fish communities in their range. Their schools can have hundredsPereira, P. H. C., et al. (2011)
Mixed-species schooling behavior and protective mimicry involving coral reef fish from the genus ''Haemulon'' (Haemulidae).
''Neotropical Ichthyology'' 9(4) 741-46. or thousands of fish, including adults and juveniles. Schools can be made up of several different ''Haemulon'' species; for example, '' H. squamipinna'' and '' H. aurolineatum'' may associate with each other. ''Haemulon'' spp. have also been observed in schools with grunts of other genera, such as ''

Anisotremus virginicus ''Anisotremus virginicus'', the porkfish, also known as the Atlantic porkfish sweetlips, dogfish or paragrate grunt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean. ...

'', and fish of different families, such as the snapper '' Lutjanus alexandrei'', the goatfish ''

Pseudupeneus maculatus ''Pseudupeneus maculatus'', the spotted goatfish, is a species from the family Mullidae. The species was originally described by Marcus Elieser Bloch Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) was a German physician and naturalist who is best known fo ...

'', and the jack '' Carangoides bartholomaei''. Other fish tend to join large ''Haemulon'' schools for protection. Sometimes they join a school simply for the protection offered by a large mass of fish, but some species engage in protective

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry f ...

in a school. Unrelated fish that resemble ''Haemulon'' in color, size, and shape join the school to hide from predators, even mimicking the swimming style, movements, and postures of the ''Haemulon''. Fish that do this include the goatfish ''

Mulloidichthys martinicus The yellow goatfish (''Mulloidichthys martinicus''), also known as yellowsaddle, is a species of goatfish native to the Atlantic Ocean around the coasts of Africa and the Americas. This species can reach a total length of , but most reach length ...

'', the

parrotfish Parrotfishes are a group of about 90 fish species regarded as a Family (biology), family (Scaridae), or a subfamily (Scarinae) of the wrasses. With about 95 species, this group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found ...

Sparisoma axillare ''Sparisoma'' is a genus of parrotfishes native to warmer parts of the Atlantic. FishBase recognizes 15 species in this genus, including ''S. rocha'' described from Trindade Island in 2010 and ''S. choati'' described from the East Atlantic in 20 ...

'', and the

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

'' Harengula clupeola''. ''M. martinicus'', in particular, stays with groups of its own species while sheltering in the reefs, but when it enters the open water column and becomes visible to predators, it tends to join schools of '' Haemulon chrysargyreum'', which it closely resembles. It assumes the posture of the grunts and blends into the group.Krajewski, J. P., et al. (2004)
The association of the goatfish ''Mulloidichthys martinicus'' with the grunt ''Haemulon chrysargyreum'': An example of protective mimicry.
''Biota Neotropica'' 4(2) 1-4. Despite their general preference for close association with other fish, some ''Haemulon'' spp. can be

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

and display aggressive behaviors. Larger individuals are more likely to act aggressively, and this behavior is more common at certain times of the day, such as early morning. Like other members of their family, these fish produce a grunting sound by grinding their pharyngeal teeth, the behavior which inspired their common name. The spawning behavior of these fish has not been observed.

Systematics

''Haemulon'' is split by some authorities into two genera, these workers suggest that ''Haemulon'' '' sensu lato'' is polyphyletic because molecular studies showed that ''H. chrysargyreum'' clustered with ''

Xenistius californiensis ''Xenistius'' is a genus of grunts native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Species The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Xenistius californiensis'' (Steindachner, 1876) (Californian salema) * '' Xenistius peruanus'' Hildebrand, ...

'', rendering ''Haemulon'' as polyphyletic if ''

Xenistius ''Xenistius'' is a genus of grunts native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Species The currently recognized species in this genus are: * '' Xenistius californiensis'' ( Steindachner, 1876) (Californian salema) * '' Xenistius peruanus'' Hildebrand, ...

'' was not included. The genus ''

Brachygenys ''Brachygenys'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, grunts belonging to the family Haemulidae. The species within the genus are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean and western Atlantic Ocean. It is not yet recognised by Fishbase but is by the Ca ...

'' Poey, 1868 was revived to include ''Xenistius californiensis'', ''Haemulon chrysargyreum'', ''

Xenistius peruanus ''Xenistius'' is a genus of grunts native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Species The currently recognized species in this genus are: * ''Xenistius californiensis'' (Steindachner, 1876) (Californian salema) * '' Xenistius peruanus'' Hildebrand, 1 ...

'' and ''

Xenocys jessiae ''Xenocys jessiae'', the black-striped salema, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is endemic to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Description ''Xenocys jessiae'' has a relatively slender, elongated b ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q772044 Haemulinae Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by Georges Cuvier