You can sponsor this page

Haemulon melanurum (Linnaeus, 1758)

Cottonwick grunt
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Haemulon melanurum   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
 Pictures | Videos | Sounds | Google image
Image of Haemulon melanurum (Cottonwick grunt)
Haemulon melanurum
Picture by Johnson, L.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) > Haemulidae (Grunts) > Haemulinae
Etymology: Haemulon: Greek, haimaleos = bloody (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 50 m (Ref. 9626). Subtropical; 34°N - 12°S, 99°W - 32°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Bermuda, southeastern Florida (USA), and the Bahamas to Brazil.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 19.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 33.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3798); max. published weight: 550.00 g (Ref. 5217)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 17; Anal soft rays: 8. Broad black area above line from dorsal fin origin to tip of lower caudal fin lobe, including upper part of caudal peduncle and both lobes of tail. Striking colored species, with a silvery body, black back and tail (Ref. 26938). With narrow yellow stripes, the broadest mid-lateral (Ref. 13442).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits clear inshore and offshore reefs (Ref. 9710) and adjacent grass beds, often in schools (Ref. 3798). Feeds on crustaceans (Ref. 3798). Marketed fresh (Ref. 3798).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 01 March 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30303)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 23.7 - 28, mean 26.8 °C (based on 288 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01738 (0.01034 - 0.02920), b=3.00 (2.86 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.2   ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 3.4 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.3).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (33 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 27.5 [13.0, 65.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.614 [0.299, 1.244] mg/100g; Protein = 19 [17, 21] %; Omega3 = 0.139 [0.061, 0.282] g/100g; Selenium = 16.7 [7.3, 36.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 28.4 [6.3, 119.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.918 [0.551, 1.493] mg/100g (wet weight);