''Haemulon plumierii'', the white grunt or common grunt, 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 ...

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 ...

in the family

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 ...

native to 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 ...

. It grows to a length of about and is a silvery-cream color, with narrow yellow and blue longitudinal stripes, but can modify its color somewhat to match its surroundings. It is closely related to the bluestriped grunt and the

French grunt ''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 At ...

, and often schools with these species. It feeds on shrimp, other crustaceans, annelids, and mollusks, and is preyed on by larger

piscivore A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...

s such as

barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...

and

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

. It is sometimes caught by anglers as a game fish, and its flaky white flesh can be eaten. It is also a popular aquarium fish.

Habitat and distribution

The white grunt is found near mangroves, reefs, docks, and nearly any sort of structure in its range, which extends in the Western Atlantic from

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

through the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

south to

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 ...

. It normally lives in depths similar to that of its relative, the bluestriped grunt, from 0 to 30 m in depth. This fish is closely related to the bluestriped grunt (''H. sciurus'') and the French grunt (''H. flavolineatum''). The white grunt is often seen schooling with those species. The familiar "grunt" that this fish makes is caused by its pharyngeal teeth grinding in the back of its throat. This sound is normally made when the fish is distressed or in danger, such as when being caught by an angler.

Description

The white grunt is a silvery cream color with numerous yellow and blue horizontal stripes present across the body. Its head is long with a distinct snout, and falcate pectoral fins and a forked caudal tail are also present. ''H. plumieri'' also has numerous dorsal spines and rough teeth. Unlike groupers or snappers, grunts have a strong fixed lower jawbone. The average size of this fish is 6 to 12 inches, and ''H. plumieri'' often changes its color to its direct surroundings, becoming accordingly paler or darker. The white grunt has been observed to reach lengths over 20 inches and weights above 15 lb.

Diet

Although the natural diet of this fish largely consists of shrimp, they also feed upon annelids, crustaceans, and bivalves. Largely opportunistic, anglers have caught them on the whole spectrum of natural and artificial baits.

Predators

Large species of predatory fish such as barracuda and shark feed upon white grunts, as they are abundant and school in fairly large numbers. Other piscivorous fish such as groupers and snappers also eat ''H. plumieri''.

Systematics

''H. plumierii'' was first formally described in 1801 as ''Labrus plumierii'' by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

naturalist Bernard German de Lacépède (1756-1825), with the type locality given as

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

and naturalist

Charles Plumier Charles Plumier (; 20 April 1646 – 20 November 1704) was a French botanist after whom the frangipani genus ''Plumeria'' is named. Plumier is considered one of the most important of the botanical explorers of his time. He made three botanizing ...

(1664–1704), Lacépède based his description of this species on a drawing by Plumier.

Human uses

The white grunt has minor importance on the commercial scale, but is somewhat popular with children and beginners as game fish, and even experienced fishermen. Grunts are easy to catch and have white meat that cooks well, so they are sometimes caught to be eaten. A historic Florida dish, "grits and grunts", is traditionally prepared with ''H. plumieri''. They also have bait value for large piscivorousfish. These fish also have high value as aquarium fish, due to their bright colors.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q654698 plumierii Fish of the Western Atlantic Fish of the Caribbean Fish of the Gulf of Mexico Fish described in 1801 Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède