Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris
Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2021. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Bart, The Netherlands (worldangler.eu).
Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris, Juvenile.Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, February 2023. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Allyn Toth, Peoria, Illinois.
Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2020. Length: 23 cm (9.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).
Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2012. Length: 25 cm (9.8 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2021. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Bart, The Netherlands (worldangler.eu).
Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, April 2015. Length: 31 cm (12 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Michael Verdirame, Markham, Ontario, Canada.
Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris. Fish caught with within Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, March 2017. Length: 32 cm (13 inches).
Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Length: 32 cm (13 inches).
The Yellowstripe Grunt, Haemulopsis axillaris, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, and known in Mexico as ronco callana. Globally, there are five global members of the Haemulopsis Genus, of which four are found in Mexican waters all in the Pacific Ocean.
The Yellowstripe Grunt has a streamlined shape with a depth that is 33% to 35% of length. They have an overall silver appearance, strong lateral line, and faint brownish stripes running from front to back. They have a faith white line under their eyes and a black line in their second dorsal fin which is unique to this species. There are black blotches behind their upper gill opening and a triangular black spot at the base of their pectoral fin. Their upper head profile is convex with a short snout that is 6 to 7% of standard length. Their anal fin has 3 spines, the second spine is shorter than the first, and 8 rays; their dorsal fin is continuous with a notch and has 12 spines 14 to 15 rays; and, their pectoral fins are long that reach the anal fin origin. They have 14 to 17 gill rakers. They are covered with scales.
The Yellowstripe Grunt is found within sandy and muddy flats at depths up to 113 m (370 feet). They reach a maximum of 30 cm (12 inches) in length. They are nocturnal carnivores feeding on benthic crustaceans, echinoderms, small fish and mollusks. The Yellowstripe 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 Yellowstripe 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 coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.
The Yellowstripe Grunt is difficult to identify as it is very similar in appearance to the Elongate Grunt, Haemulopsis elongatus (straight head profile; long snout, snout 10% to 11% of standard length), the Raucous Grunt, Haemulopsis leuciscus (third anal spine reaching past anal fin base, snout 11% to 12% of standard length), and the Shining Grunt, Haemulopsis nitidus (very short second anal spine; black blotch behind operculum).
From a conservation perspective the Yellowstripe Grunt is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature and of interest to most.