Caesar Grunt, Haemulon carbonarium

Caesar Grunt, Haemulon carbonarium, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Key West, Florida, March 2017. Length: 12.5 cm (4.9 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Dean Kimberly, Atlanta, Georgia.  Note: the dark mid-dorsal broken line is noteworthy.

Caesar Grunt, Haemulon carbonarium. Fish caught from coastal waters off San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 2018. Length:  13.5 cm (5.3 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.

Caesar Grunt, Haemulon carbonarium, Juvenile. Fish caught in coastal waters off Boca Raton, Florida, July 2020. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Caesar Grunt, Haemulon carbonarium. Fish caught off the Grand Mayan Pier, Riviera Maya, Cancun, March 2012. Length: 23.0 cm (9.1 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Caesar Grunt, Haemulon carbonarium. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of Yal-Ku, Quintana Roo, April 2016. Photograph courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal. Also pictured is a juvenile French Angelfish, Pomacanthus paru, providing cleaner services to the Caesar Grunt.

The Caesar Grunt, Haemulon carbonarium, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, and is known in Mexico as ronco carbonero. Globally, there are twenty-one species in the genus Haemulon, and all twenty-one are found in Mexican waters, fourteen in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific Ocean.

The Caesar Grunt has a compressed tapering body with a depth that is 35% to 39% of standard length. They have a silvery white coloration with a series of horizontal orange-brown stripes that are wider and more prominent above the lateral line. They also have a characteristic black spot at the base of their caudal fin. Their anal, pectoral, and pelvic fins are transparent and their caudal fin is dark. The first portion of their dorsal fin is transparent with an orange-brown margin and the second portion is transparent with a dark margin. Their head has bronze-yellow stripes and spots. They have fleshy lips and the inside of their mouth is orange. Their anal fin has 3 spines, the second being thick, and 8 rays; and, their dorsal fin has 12 spines and 15 or 16 rays and is continuous with a small notch. They have 23 to 25 gill rakers. They are covered with rough scales.

The Caesar Grunt is are a schooling species found inshore within reefs and mangroves normally at depths up to 24 m (80 feet). They reach a maximum of 36 cm (14 inches) in length. They feed at night and consume primarily benthic invertebrates including crabs, gastropods, starfish and annelid worms. The Caesar Grunt The Acapulco Damselfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Caesar Grunt is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean.

The Caesar Grunt is fairly easy to identify due to its stripping pattern and the large black spot at the base of its causal fin and not easily confused with any other species.

From a conservation perspective the Caesar Grunt is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are deemed to be a quality food fish but due to their rarity and small stature they not of significant interest. They are utilized in the aquarium trade at a minor level.