Blackbarred Grunt, Genyatremus dovii

Blackbarred Grunt, Genyatremus dovii, Juvenile. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2020. Length: 13 cm (5.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Blackbarred Grunt, Genyatremus dovii, Juvenile. Fish caught from shore from coast water of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2013. Length: 15.2 cm (6.0 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Tentative identification by H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.

Blackbarred Grunt, Genyatremus dovii. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2017. Length: 16.5 cm (6.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.

Blackbarred Grunt, Genyatremus dovii. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, April 2015. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Michael Verdirame, Markham, Ontario, Canada.

Blackbarred Grunt, Genyatremus dovii. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2017. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Kenneth Tse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Blackbarred Grunt, Genyatremus dovii. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, February 2022. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

The Blackbarred Grunt, Genyatremus dovii, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, that is also known as the Spotted Head Sargo and in Mexico as burro rompepailao. Globally, there are four species in the genus Genyatremus, of which two are found in Mexican waters, both in the Pacific Ocean.

The Blackbarred Grunt has a deep compressed body with a depth that is 45% to 50% of standard length. They are silvery in color with four black vertical bars on their head and body; these bars are located through their eyes, through the base of their pectoral fins, from the center of the spinous portion of their dorsal fin, and at the origin of the rayous portion of their dorsal fin (pictured above). Their fins are transparent with the exception that the tips of their anal and dorsal fins are black. They have a slanting head profile, a high back, a short blunt head that has a small mouth that is low and horizontal and that features fleshy lips. Their anal fin has 3 spines, the second being long and thick, and 9 or 10 rays; their caudal fin is forked; their first dorsal fin has 11 or 12 spines with the fourth spine being the longest; the second dorsal fin has 13 to 16 rays; and, their pectoral fins are short and do not reach the anal fin origin. Their body is covered with large rough scales.

The Blackbarred Grunt is found in and around relatively shallow water including estuaries and mangroves over sandy bottoms close to at depths between 9 m (30 feet) and 51 m (130 feet). They reach a maximum of 40 cm (16 inches) in length. The Blackbarred 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.

In Mexican waters the Blackbarred Grunt is a resident of the Pacific but has a limited distribution in being found in the Pacific around the tip of Baja and from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, southward along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

The Blackbarred Grunt is a straight forward identification cannot be easily confused with any other species due to its pattern of distinguishing vertical bars.

From a conservation perspective the Blackbarred Grunt is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are caught by commercial fisherman and modest levels, marketed fresh and considered to be good table fare.