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French Grunt; Open-mouthed Grunt
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Found from the Florida Keys south to Brazil, rare in Florida, but generally common throughout the West Indies. About Porto Rico it is one of the most abundant and valued species. It is usually found on sandy shores, and is taken in traps, seines, or with the hook. It reaches a foot in length, and is one of the most strongly marked species of the family.
Colour in life, light bluish gray; a bronze-yellow spot on upperpart of each scale, these forming continuous undulating stripes on body and head, wider than the interspaces of ground colour; on the caudal they are nearly straight; on anterior part of body below lateral line, broader and very oblique; a horizontal stripe, crossing the others, along side of back from occiput to last rays of soft dorsal, of the same golden yellow; yellow around eye; yellow shades and streaks on cheek, not strongly marked as in the common grunt and the yellow grunt; top of head with yellow stripes; angle of mouth black, brick-red inside; a large black blotch under angle of preopercle; fins bright golden yellow, the pectoral and spinous dorsal paler. In spirits the ground colour becomes grayish and the stripes brownish or dusky.
GENUS BATHYSTOMA SCUDDER
This genus differs from Haemulon in the presence of 13 dorsal spines; the body is rather elongate, gill-rakers rather numerous, 12 to 18 on lower part of anterior part of anterior arch, the mouth moderate, the scales small, the frontal foramina long, and the jaws red within.
This genus has 3 species in our waters. The most important of these is the tomtate or red-mouth grunt, Bathystoma rimator, which ranges from Cape Hatteras and Pensacola southward through the West Indies to Trinidad. It is abundant about Charleston, S.C., where it is one of the most common food-fishes. Adults are said to be uncommon about Pensacola and Key West, but at the latter place the young swarm everywhere about the wharves and shores. It is as yet not known from Cuba, and does not seem to be at all abundant in Porto Rico. This species is not of large size, seldom exceeding a foot in length. It takes the hook readily, and is an excellent pan-fish. Specimens obtained by us in Porto Rico are 5 to 6 inches in length.
Colour in life, silvery white, slightly bluish above, with iridescent reflections; edges of scales on body light yellow, these forming continuous light yellow stripes, those below lateral line horizontal, those above very oblique; a narrow continuous streak of light yellow above lateral line from head to end of soft dorsal, and another from eye to middle of caudal; head silvery yellowish above; inside of mouth red; no black under preopercle; traces of a black blotch at base of caudal; fins colourless, the lower slightly yellowish.
Another species, B. aurolineatum, is found from the Florida Keys to Brazil, its centre of greatest abundance apparently being at Havana, where it is often brought into the market. It has been taken at Garden Key, Florida, but has not been observed at Key West. It reaches a length of only 6 or 8 inches, and is smaller than any other species of this or related genera, except Brachygenys chrysargyreus.
Colour in life, dusky-gray, with 7 or 8 yellow longitudinal streaks, the one through eye widest; inside of mouth very red; no dusky spot under the angle of preopercle; fins gray, the dorsal scarcely yellowish.
The third species is the white grunt, B. striatum, which is known from the Bermudas, Key West, Cuba, Santo Domingo, and Porto Rico, but is apparently not common anywhere. One specimen was obtained by us at San Juan, Porto Rico. It probably never exceeds a foot in length.
Colour in alcohol, pearly gray, with 5 or 6 continuous brownish streaks (probably golden in life), one on median line from tip of snout to origin of dorsal, one diverging from snout and passing above eye and along side to soft dorsal; another from snout through upper part of eye and terminating near beginning of lateral line; a fourth passing through eye and along middle of side to base of caudal; another crossing opercle and base of pectoral.
GENUS LYTHRULON JORDAN & SWAIN
This genus is closely allied to Haemulon, but differs in the short snout, the high supraoccipital crest, oblique mouth, and increased number of gill-rakers. The form of the body is peculiar, the dorsal and anal long and low and the caudal widely forked. This genus contains but 2 species. The first of these, Lythrulon flaviguttatum, is distinguished by having the gill-rakers about 10+22 and the body oblong, the depth being about 1/3 the length. This species reaches about a foot in length, and inhabits the Pacific coast of tropical America from the Gulf of California to Panama. It is generally common, and valued as pan-fish.