Species: Haemulon flaviguttatum, Cortez grunt, Yellow-spotted grunt
scale centers pale
26-31 gill rakers
Haemulon flaviguttatum Gill, 1862
Cortez grunt, Yellow-spotted grunt
Body oblong, compressed; mouth oblique, lower jaw projecting, opens at level of center of eye, lips not fleshy; underside of chin with 2 large pores, 2 pores in a deep hole, and a central groove; gill rakers 26-31 (usually 27-28); preoperculum finely serrated, without spines; dorsal fin continuous, with small to moderate notch in middle, X-XII, 15-18 (usually XII, 17); anal rays III, 10-11; tail forked; soft dorsal and anal densely scaled nearly to the edge of the fin; lateral-line scales 50-53; scales above the lateral line in oblique lines.
Silvery grey, small white spots in scale centers on side arranged in oblique rows; fins yellow except caudal mainly dusky blackish (with yellowish outer margin); inside mouth red; juveniles with narrow dark midlateral stripe and second stripe above, slanting from snout to upper surface of caudal peduncle, also a black spot at base of tail fin.
Size: reaches 42 cm.
Habitat: occurs near shore on rocky reefs, often seen in schools.
Depth: 1-30 m.
Southern California (vagrants), Cedros Island off central Baja, to the Gulf of California to Ecuador and Malpelo.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Brackish
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef and soft bottom
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Sand & gravel
- Rocks
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Planktivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- Zooplankton
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic larva
- No data
- Pelagic
- Global Endemism
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- East Pacific endemic
- All species
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- TEP endemic
- Island (s)
- All species
- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
- North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 42
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 30
