Cortez Grunt, Haemulon flaviguttatum

Cortez Grunt, Haemulon flaviguttatum. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, November 2020. Length: 12.5 cm (4.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Cortez Grunt, Haemulon flaviguttatum. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, July 2015. Length: 25 cm (10 inches). Note the spot at the base of the tail.

Cortez Grunt, Haemulon flaviguttatum. Fish caught from within Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, May 2019. Length: 25 cm (10 inches).

Cortez Grunt, Haemulon flaviguttatum. Fish caught from coastal waters off Las Barilles, Baja California Sur, January 2020. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). Catch courtesy of Ian Franck, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Cortez Grunt, Haemulon flaviguttatum. Fish caught from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, March 2018. Length: 35 cm (14 inches). Note the absence of the spot at the base of the tail.

Cortez Grunt, Haemulon flaviguttatum. Underwater photograph of a massive school with a few Longfin Salema mixed in taken in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, October 2019. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Cortez Grunt, Haemulon flaviguttatum, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, that is also known as the Yellowspotted Grunt and in Mexico as burro de Corteź. 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 Cortez Grunt has an oblong compressed body with a depth that is 41% to 43% of standard length. Their head features an oblique mouth and a projecting lower jaw that opens at the level of the center of their eye. They are silvery-gray in appearance with pearly blue spots on each body scale. They have yellow fins except for their forked caudal fin which is dark with yellow trim. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 10 or 11 rays; their caudal fin is forked; and, their dorsal fin has 10 to 12 spines and 15 to 18 rays.

The Cortez Grunt is an inshore schooling species found near rocky reefs and caves at depths up to 107 m (350 feet). They each a maximum of 48 cm (19 inches) in length and 1 kg (2 lbs 3 oz) in weight. They are nocturnal feeders. The Cortez 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 Cortez Grunt is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The Cortez Grunt can be confused with the Latin Grunt, Haemulon steindachneri (oblique brown lines on sides; black spot at caudal fin base) and the Spottail Grunt, Haemulon maculicauda (overall dark gray appearance; pale lines on sides; gray anal and dorsal fins).

From a conservation perspective the Cortez Grunt is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are small in stature and of limited interest to most. They are accessible from the beach via surf fishing at certain times of the year but virtually disappear after the first hour of morning light.