Description: body color
light bluish-gray, head with horizontal blue stripes, white underbelly;
black blotch on preopercle; margin of each scale bronze; large bright
orange mouth; scales above lateral line larger than scales below lateral
line.
Similar Fish: other
grunts.
Where found: from SHORE
to the outer reef edge or on OFFSHORE hard bottom to 115 feet; most
abundant in water less than 80 feet deep; juveniles INSHORE.
Size: most catches 1.5
pounds (15 inches).
*Florida Record: n/a
Remarks: audible grunting
is produced by grinding of the pharyngeal teeth, with air bladder acting
as amplifyer; spawning occurs on OFFSHORE hard bottoms or reefs from May
through June; feeds on crustaceans, mollusks and small fishes.
* The Florida records
quoted are from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's
printed publication, Fishing
Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are
provided as only as a benchmark.
