Mojarra Grunt

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii, Juveniles. Underwater photograph taken within Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, October 2019. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii, Juvenile. Fish caught off a pier in Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, February 2017. Length: 9.8 cm (3.8 inches). Catch courtesy of Ruben Duran, Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur. Photograph and identification courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Length: 14 cm (5.7 inches).  The fish came into the boat “striped” and almost immediately transitioned to the non-striped traditional coloration.  After some time in a bucket of sea water it transitioned back to the “striped” coloration.

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, February 2023. Length: 14 cm (5.7 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Peoria, Illinois.

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2021. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Bart, The Netherlands  (worldangler.eu).

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, July 2021. Length: 19 cm (7.5 inches).

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii. Fish caught from coastal water off Loreto, Baja California Sur, June 2024. Length: 19 cm (7.5 inches). Identification courtesy of Dr. Ross Robertson, Smithsonian Institute, Panama City, Panama.

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii. Fish caught within the coastal waters of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, April 2016. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Fish has atypical black finnage.

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, April 2015. Length: 22 cm (8.7 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii. Fish caught within the coastal waters of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, April 2016. Length: 22 cm (8.7 inches).

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderiiFish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, April 2015. Length: 25 cm (9.8 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.

Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii. Fish caught from the Devil’s Bend section of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, January 2020. Length: 27 cm (11 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

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

The Mojarra Grunt, Haemulon scudderii, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, that is also known as the Golden-eye Grunt and Grey Grunt and is known in Mexico as burro pecoso and roncador.  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 Mojarra Grunt has a moderately elongated compressed body with a depth that is 35% to 39% of standard length. They have an overall silver-gray appearance with large golden eyes. In most fish the inside of the mouth is orange. Their anal, caudal, and dorsal fins are black, and their pectoral and pelvic fins are dusky. Juveniles have a large black spot at the tail base. They have scales that are tipped with one small black dot. They have an elevated back, a short blunt head with a long straight profile, and a small oblique mouth that opens below eye level. Their anal fin has 3 spines, the second is long and thick, and 7 or 8 rays; their caudal fin is forked; their dorsal fin is continuous with a small notch with 11 or 12 spines, the fourth is the longest, and 14 to 17 rays; and, their pectoral fins are long but do not reach the anal fin origin. They have 15 to 21 gill rakers. A key to identification is that there are 5 or 6 rows of scales between the lateral line and the dorsal fin.

The Mojarra Grunt is found around inshore rocky reefs at depths up to 30 m (100 feet). They reach a maximum of 39 cm (15 inches) in length and 2.0 kg (4 lbs 6 oz) in weight. They are nocturnal carnivores feeding on benthic crustaceans, echinoderms, small fish and mollusks. The Mojarra 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 Mojarra Grunt is easy confused with the Burrito Grunt, Haemulon scudderii (26 to 31 gill rakers; yellow eyes; mature fish with fat lips).

The Mojarra Grunt is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja, in the southern half of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coastal mainland south to Guatemala.

From a conservation perspective the Mojarra Grunt is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. The are uncommon and of limited interest to most.