Species: Haemulon album, Margate, Margate Grunt

Haemulon album Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1830

Margate, Margate Grunt

Body oblong, compressed; body depth ~39% of SL; head deep, blunt, its upper profile convex on nape then straight to mouth; eye small; rear margin of bone under eye concealed by scales; mouth small to moderate, lips not fleshy; underside of chin with 2 large pores and a central groove; preoperculum finely serrated, without spines; gill rakers 21-23; dorsal fin continuous, with small to moderate notch in middle, XII, 16-17; anal rays III, 7-8, 2nd and 3rd spines similar; tail forked; soft dorsal and anal densely scaled nearly to the edge of the fin; scales rough; scales over entire body and head except front of snout, lips and chin; pectoral fin scaled on base only; lateral-line scales 49-52; scale rows below lateral line oblique to body axis.

Pearly grey to pale olive-green; iris white; inside mouth red; membranes of spiny dorsal white; soft dorsal, anal and tail dusky; black blotch under free margin of preopercle faint or absent.

Size: attains 79 cm.

Habitat: on reefs, hard bottom and nearby soft bottoms.

Depth: 1-60 m.

North Carolina to Brazil.