Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri

Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, November 2020. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri. Fish caught from waters adjacent to Roca Consag, San Felipe, Baja California, May 2015. Length: 23 cm (9.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.

Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2021. Length: 21 cm (8.3 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Bart, The Netherlands  (worldangler.eu).

Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri. Fish caught from coastal waters  off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, January 2012. Length: 24 cm (9.4 inches).

Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri. Fish caught from coastal waters  off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, August 2021. Length: 25 cm (9.8 inches).

Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri. Fish caught within the coastal waters of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur,  May 2017. Length: 25 cm (10 inches).

Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri, Juveniles. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, January 2020. Photograph and identification courtesy of Maude Jette, Dive Zihuantanejo, www.Divezihuatanejo.com.

Latin Grunts, Haemulon steindachneri. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, September 2021. Photograph courtesy of Kevin Erwin, Seattle, Washington.

The Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, that is also known as the Chere-chere Grunt and in Mexico as burro latino. 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 Latin Grunt has an elongated compressed body with a depth that is 35% to 37% of standard length. They have a silvery appearance with narrow brownish bars on their sides, which follow the scale rows. They have a prominent black spot at the base of their tail, a key to identification. All their fins are a silvery yellow-brown color. They have a short mouth that opens well below eye level. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 8 to 10 rays; their caudal fin is forked; and, their dorsal fin is continuous with a small notch with 11 or 12 spines and 15 to 17 rays. They have 19 to 25 gill rakers. They are covered with scales.

The Latin Grunt is a schooling species found in sandy areas adjacent to rocks and reefs at depths up to 76 m (250 feet). They reach a maximum length of 35 cm (14 inches). They are nocturnal carnivores feeding on benthic crustaceans, echinoderms, small fish and mollusks. The Latin 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 Latin Grunt is a resident of Mexican waters of both the Atlantic and Pacific, making it a somewhat unique species. In the Atlantic they are found in all oceanic waters including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean; in the Pacific, they are found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja, throughout the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

The Latin Grunt can be easily confused with the Cortez Grunt, Haemulon flaviguttatum (no black spot at tail base) and the Spottail Grunt, Haemulon maculicauda (overall dark gray appearance; pale lines on sides; gray anal and dorsal fins).

From a conservation perspective the Latin Grunt is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. These guys can be caught be the hundreds in 50-foot water off coastal Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur where they are considered to be a trash fish. In contrast I catch one about every five years out of 200-foot water in the greater Los Cabos area where they a considered to be a quality food fish and retained for human consumption.