190 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
middle of cheek forking below eye and inclosing an oblong area of ground-color; spinous dorsal 
pale-yellowish olive, bordered with orange; soft dorsal rusty-olivaceous, with orange border; caudal 
dusky at base, yellowish-olive on outer third; anal, greenish-yellow; pectoral and ventral, rusty-lemon 
or light-yellow; inside of mouth, except tips of jaws, blood-red. 
The yellow grunt reaches a length of 18 inches and a weight of a pound or less and is a common 
and important food-fish from the Florida Keys to Brazil. It appears to be generally abundant about 
Porto Rico and was observed at most of the places visited. There are specimens in the collection 
from San Juan, Arroyo, Vieques Island, Culebra Island, Fajardo, Guanica, Puerto Real, and Ensenada 
del Boqueron; taken by Mr. Gray at San Geronimo. It has previously been recorded from Biscayne 
Bay, the Tortugas, Key West, and others of the Florida Keys, Cuba, Aspinwall, Bahia, and Jamaica. 
At Key West this fish is known as “boar grunt” and is very plentiful, usually in schools on 
rock bottom. A Key West fisherman reports that he has often caught 500 to 600 in a single day; 
the best fishing is in August. The best bait is a long worm which the fishermen get from the stem of 
a tall grass which grows on the bars. Nothing could be learned concerning its spawning habits, 
except that it probably spawns in August. Cold is said to affect this species seriously. 
Antliias formosus Bloch, Ichth., pi. 323, 1790, Antilles; not Perea formosa Linnseus, with which it has been identified; 
the latter is Diplectrum formosum. 
Spams sciurus Shaw, General Zoology, IV, pi. 64, 1803, Antilles; based on the description and figure of Bloch. 
Hxmulon elegans Cuvier, R£gne Animal, ed. 2, vol. 2, 175, 1829; no description; based on Bloch’s figure. 
? Diabasis obliquatus Bennett, Zool. Journ. London, V, 1835, 90, Jamaica. 
? Hxmulon similis Castelnau, Anim. Nou. et Rares, II, 1855, Bahia. 
Hxmulon luteurn Poey, Memorias, II, 174, 1860, Cuba; Poey, Fauna Puerto-Riquena,325, 1881; Stahl, l.o., 77 and 163,1883. • 
Hsemulon multilineatum Poey , Memorias, II, 178, 1860, Cuba; Stahl, 1. c., 163, 1883. 
Hxmulon hians Haly, Ann. Nat. Hist., XV, 1875, 26S, Aspinwall. 
Hxmulon sciurus, Jordan & Evermann, 1. c., 1303, 1898. 
142. Haemulon plumieri (Laeepede). 
“ Cachicata” ; “ Boca Colorado” ; Ronco Ronco; Ronco Arara; Common Grunt. 
Head 2.5 to 2.8; depth 2.43 to 2.66; eye 4.5 to 5; snout 2.16; maxillary 2; interorbital 3.2 to 4; 
preorbital 5 to 5.8; D. xir, 15 or 16; A. iii, 8 or 9; scales 6-51-17; pectoral 1.5 to 1.8; ventral 1.75 
to 1.8. Body moderately elongate, back considerably elevated and compressed; head long, snout 
sharp and projecting; anterior profile more or less S-shaped, nearly straight from tip of snout to front 
of eye, there concave, thence gibbous to front of dorsal, this character more pronounced in adults; 
mouth very large, gape curved, maxillary nearly reaching middle of eye; jaws subequal, or lower 
slightly included; teeth strong, in rather broad bands, those of outer series enlarged; antrorse teeth of 
