Genus: Brachygenys, Smallmouth Grunt, Short-snout grunts, Short-Snout Grunts

BRACHYGENYS

SHORT-SNOUT GRUNTS

Body oblong, compressed, slender (depth 26-33% SL);  eye small (1.7-2.7 in snout);  snout short, blunt (4-10% SL); rear margin of bone under eye concealed by scales; mouth small (top jaw 9-13% SL), lips not fleshy; underside of chin with 2 large pores and a central groove; preoperculum finely serrated, without spines; dorsal fin XII-XVI spines, deeply notched or with spiny and soft parts separate; tail forked; anal fin III, 2nd and 3rd spines similar; scales over entire body and head except front of snout, lips and chin; soft dorsal and anal densely scaled nearly to the edge of the fin; adult with silvery body, 5-7 dark stripes along side.

A neotropical genus with four species; one in the Greater Caribbean and endemic to it.