Elongate Grunt, Haemulopsis elongatus

Elongate Grunt, Haemulopsis elongatus, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, February 2023. Length: 5.4 cm (2.1 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Allyn Toth, Peoria, Illinois.

Elongate Grunt, Haemulopsis elongatus, Juvenile. Fish caught from within the tidal pools at  El Tule, Baja California Sur, January 2015. Length: 10.5 cm (4.1 inches).

Elongate Grunt, Haemulopsis elongatus, Juvenile. Fish caught off Las Conchas Beach, Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, November 2022. Length: 12 cm (4.7 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

Elongate Grunt, Haemulopsis elongatus, Juvenile. Fish caught with a cast net from within the marina, Loreto, Baja California Sur, July 2019. Length: 15.2 cm (6.0 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.

Elongate Grunt, Haemulopsis elongatus. Fish caught within the coastal waters of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, April 2016. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). 

Grunt, Haemulopsis elongatus. Fish caught within the coastal waters of the Las Animas region of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, January 2022. Length: 33 cm (13 inches). Catch courtesy of Derrick Mizuyabu, Steveston, British Columbia, Canada. Photograph and  identification courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

The Elongate Grunt, Haemulopsis elongatus, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, that is also known as the Sharp-snout Grunt and in Mexico as burrito rayado. There are five global members of the Haemulopsis Genus of which four are found in Mexican waters, all in the Pacific Ocean.

The Elongate Grunt has a streamlined profile, an overall silver appearance, and a relatively narrow body that has depth that is 32% to 35% of standard length. They have straight head profiles with a long snout and a mouth that does not reach their eyes. Their upper lips, rear of their lower lips, and top of their gill cover are black. Their anal and pelvic fins are dusky; their caudal and dorsal fins are yellowish. Their anal fin has 3 spines, the second of which is shorter than the third, and 7 or 8 rays; their first dorsal fin has 12 spines; their second dorsal fin has 14 or 15 rays; and, their pectoral fins are short. They have 10 to 14 lower gill rakers. They are covered with small scales.

The Elongate Grunt is found over sandy and muddy bottoms at depths up to 67 m (220 feet). They reach a maximum of 45 cm (18 inches) in length. They are nocturnal carnivores feeding on benthic crustaceans, echinoderms, small fish and mollusks. The Elongated Grunt  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 Elongate Grunt is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific but has a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the west coast of Baja, in the southern half of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

The Elongate Grunt is difficult to identify as it is very similar in appearance to the Raucous Grunt, Haemulopsis leuciscus (third anal spine reaching past anal fin base; snout 11-12% of standard length), the Shining Grunt, Haemulopsis nitidus (very short second anal spine; black blotch behind operculum) and the Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris (third anal spine longer than second; snout 6-7% of standard length).

From a conservation perspective the Elongate Grunt is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are very rare and relatively small in stature and are of limited interest to most.