Diet

• Carnivorous, nocturnal feeder that searches the reef for small benthic invertebrates.

• Its diet includes amphipods, crustacean larvae, small molluscs, worms, holothurians and brittle stars.

• Juveniles are more often seen schooling, while adults generally forage more independently.

Range

• Tropical eastern Pacific, ranging from the Gulf of California and central Baja California southward along the Pacific coast to Peru, including the Galápagos and other offshore islands.

• It occurs along the Mexican Pacific coast, including Guerrero, and is within the Zihuatanejo region.

Habitat

• Primarily associated with inshore rocky reefs and other hard-bottom habitats.

• Usually found from about 3–30 metres, although records extend to approximately 90 metres.

• Adults commonly shelter in reef crevices and caves during the day and emerge at night to feed.

Description

• Large, deep-bodied grunt with a strongly compressed body and a high back.

• Body is predominantly silvery, with large scales above the lateral line having dark anterior margins that create a series of conspicuous dark spots.

• The rear third of the body and base of the tail often have a yellowish sheen.

• Dorsal, anal, caudal and pelvic fins range from blackish or grey to yellowish.

• Head is short and blunt, with a small mouth and thick, fleshy lips.

• Pectoral fins are relatively long, reaching approximately to the origin of the anal fin.

• Can reach about 51 cm in total length, although approximately 30 cm is a common adult length.