Boga, Haemulon vittatum

Boga, Haemulon vittatum. Fish caught off Pulley Ridge, Gulf of Mexico, August 2018. Length: 14 cm (5.5 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Dominick Porcelli, Lighthouse Point, Florida.

The Boga, Haemulon vittatum, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, that is also known as Bonnetmouth and in Mexico as la boga. 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 Boga has an elongated spindle-sharped body that is fusiform with a depth that is 22% to 26% of standard length. The juveniles have greater body depths than the adults. They have a distinct yellow snout and are blue-green dorsally transitioning to bluish-white ventrally. They have a broad greenish stripe that runs along the lateral line from the eye to the caudal fin and 3 or 4 narrow dark stripes above and below. Their anal, dorsal, and pectoral fins are white, their caudal fin has black lobes with gray borders, and their pectoral fins are dusky with a violet tinge. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 9 rays; their caudal fin is deeply forked, disproportionately large and has a broad base with a large keel on each side; their first dorsal fin has 14 or 15 spines; and, the second dorsal fin has 10 rays with the two fins being set close together; their pectoral fins are pointed and found high on the flank, and their pelvic fins are just behind the pectoral fins. They have two large pores on the chin. They do not have teeth. There gill rakers are long and slender. They have a complete lateral line that extends into the caudal fin. They are covered with rough scales.

The Boga is an open ocean fast swimming surface pelagic that is found in large schools associated with reefs, oceanic islands and in coastal regions at depths up to 105 m (345 feet). They reach a maximum length of 23 cm (9.1 inches). They are nocturnal carnivores that feed on benthic organisms including larvae, mysids, small planktonic shrimp, and small filter feeder fish that live in mid-water. They feed by day on mid-water zooplankton. Their mouths are protrusible that can extend both forward and downward giving them unique feeding capabilities. The juveniles are known prey for the Red Hind, Epinephelus guttatus and the Red Lionfish, Pterois volitans. Reproduction is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding. The Boga 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 Boga can be confused with the Bonnetmouth, Emmelichthyops atlanticus (dorsal fin with 11 or 12 spines; wide gap between fins) and the Bronzestripe Grunt, Haemulon boschmae (dorsal fin with 13 or 14 spines; dark spot at the caudal fin base).

The Boga is a resident of Mexican waters of the Atlantic but has a limited range being found only from along the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico from Tuxpan, Veracruz to the Yucatán Peninsula and along the entire east coast of the Yucatán in the Caribbean.

From a conservation perspective the Boga is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature and of limited interest to most however they are consumed by some cultures on a limited base and are also utilized as a live bait fish.