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Mojarra Prieta
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This species occurs on the Pacific coast of America from the Gulf of California to Panama. It is everywhere common, especially about rocks, reaches a length of a foot, and is a good food-fish. It is the Pacific coast representative of H. parra, reaches a similar size, is equally abundant, and passes through a similar range of variations and colour changes.
Haemulon carbonarium, the ronco carbonero, is known from the West Indies, the Bermudas, and Brazil. It seems to be rare about Porto Rico, but is very common at Havana, where it is esteemed as a food-fish. It is a small species, usually not exceeding a foot in length.
Colour in life, light bluish gray, much resembling the common grunt; body with 7 or 8 deep brassy yellow stripes, horizontal above lateral line, those below a little curved, following the rows of scales, 3 above and 3 to 5 below the lateral line, the latter paler; little black under angle of preopercle; caudal blackish yellow at tip; soft dorsal, anal, and ventrals yellowish gray, the distal part blackish; spinous dorsal bluish, deep yellow at base and edge, a yellow stripe along middle; mouth deep red.
Haemulon steindachneri, the ronco raiado, is a species of rather wide distribution. It occurs on both coasts of tropical America, from the Gulf of California to Panama, and from St. Lucia to Brazil. It is common on the coast of Brazil, and is especially abundant about Mazatlan.
Colour in life, olive or golden brown, golden below, the edges of scales of back with brilliant blue lustre, each scale on back and sides with a median pearly blue spot, these forming very distinct streaks, following the rows of scales; a large, distinct, round blackish blotch on base of caudal fin and caudal peduncle, more distinct than in any other species; a distinct bluish black vertical bar on lower anterior part of opercle, partly concealed by angle of preopercle; fins all bright yellow or golden; ventrals and anal not dark; peritoneum dusky.
Haemulon melanurum, the jeniguana, is known from the West Indies and south to Brazil. It is rather common at Havana, but was not found by us in Porto Rico. It grows to a foot in length and is a good food-fish.
Colour in life, pearly gray; back and side with about 10 horizontal stripes of golden yellow, narrower than the interspaces; a dusky stripe through eye from snout to behind gill-opening ; a well-defined black area on back and caudal fin, bounded below by an almost straight line from first dorsal spine to tip of lower caudal lobe; mouth red.