Species: Haemulon sciurus, Bluestriped Grunt

Haemulon sciurus (Shaw, 1803)

Bluestriped 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 27-31; dorsal fin continuous, with small to moderate notch in middle, rays XII, 16-17; 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 48-51; scale rows below lateral line oblique to body axis.

Adult: yellow, with dense blue stripes; soft dorsal and tail fins dark, with yellow borders; pectoral, pelvic and anal fins yellow; inside mouth red. Juvenile: 3 black stripes: 1 from above eye along top of back and upper tail base; 1 thin stripe from top of eye back along lateral line of front half of body; 1 from snout through eye to tail base; an elongate black spot on base of tail fin a little below level of the lower stripe; lower body with horizontal yellow stripes.

Reaches 46 cm; 23 years.

Habitat: on reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves; juveniles in seagrass beds.

Depth: 0-40 m.

S Carolina to Brazil.