Species: Emmelichthyops atlanticus, Bonnetmouth, Bonnetmouth Grunt

Emmelichthyops atlanticus Schultz, 1945

Bonnetmouth, Bonnetmouth Grunt

Elongate, rounded fusiform body; snout about eye length; mouth small, opens at front, top jaw highly protrusible, covered by bone under eye when mouth is closed, scaleless; no teeth on jaws or roof of mouth; 2 large pores on chin; preoperculum coarsely serrated, its corner extended and rounded; operculum with a broad, flat spine at rear; gill rakers long and slender; pectoral inserts high on flank, pointed; pelvic inserts just behind pectoral base; dorsal IX-X + II, 9-10, last spine segmented at tip, two parts widely separated by a scaled space; anal fin II-III, 8-11; tail fin deeply forked; tail base broad, but no lateral keel; lateral line complete, extends onto tail fin, nearly to its rear edge; body and most of head with rough scales; second dorsal with a sheath of scales along its base; ~75 pored scales on lateral line.

Metallic yellow-green to red-brown above, sliverly whitish below; snout tinted blue with orange; upper body of adult with 4 indistinct brown stripes. Juvenile with 3 brown stripes; dorsal and tail fins with rays orange; other fins whitish.

Reaches 15 cm.

Pelagic.

Depth range: 0-128 m.

Bermuda to the S Caribbean.

Note: Previously placed in the family Inermiidae. Recent genetic study has shown that both species of Inermiids (Inermia vittata and Emmelichthyops atlanticus) are actually members of the family Haemulidae, and that I. vittata is actually a species of Haemulon.