Species: Haemulon parra, Sailors Choice, Sailors Choice Grunt

Haemulon parra (Desmarest, 1823)

Sailors Choice, Sailors Choice Grunt

Body oblong, compressed; body depth 36-39% of SL; head blunt, its upper profile slightly convex; 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 22-23; dorsal fin continuous, with small to moderate notch in middle, rays XII, 16-18; anal rays III, 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; lateral-line scales 51-52; scale rows below lateral line oblique to body axis; pectoral fins scaled at least on inner 1/3.

Adult: silvery grey; dotted irregular black stripes along scale rows, mostly oblique; fins grey, dusky at ends; pectoral clear; edges of eye often yellow or bronze; inside mouth red. Juvenile: white with 4 black stripes: one along nape; 1 from above eye along top of back and upper tail base; a thin stripe from top of eye back along lateral line that joins the bottom stripe at front of tail base; the bottom stripe from snout through eye to the end of the tail base; a round black spot on base of tail fin.

Reaches 41.2 cm.

Habitat: on reefs and hard bottoms; juveniles in seagrass beds.

Depth: 0-82 m.

The Gulf of Mexico to Brazil.