Species: Haemulon aurolineatum, Tomtate, Tomtate Grunt

Haemulon aurolineatum Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1830

Tomtate, Tomtate Grunt

Body oblong, compressed; body depth ~32-36% of SL; head deep, blunt, its upper profile convex on nape then straight to mouth; 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 24-28; dorsal fin continuous, with small to moderate notch in middle, XIII-XIV, 15 (14-16); anal rays III, 9, 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 50-52; scale rows below lateral line horizontal to body axis.

Adult: silvery white; head dusky with grey snout; 2 bronze-yellow stripes, one along midline from snout to tail base, the other along upper side; other thin faint yellow stripes between those two; a large dark blotch on base of tail fin, upper and lower borders of that fin may be dark; rest of fins pale; inside mouth red. Juvenile: 3 stripes, one along top of back to end of dorsal fin base, a short one at top of eye, the 3rd from eye to a double black spot on tail fin base.

Size: attains 25 cm.

Habitat: common on shallow reefs.

Depth: 1-140 m.

Chesapeake Bay to Brazil.