White grunt - Voyage of the Blossom (45207317804)

Description:

Description: Haemulon plumierii specimen on display as part of the exhibit "Sailing for Science: The Voyage of the Blossom", hosted by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. The three-masted sailing ship Blossom left the United States for Africa, the South Atlantic, and South America on a speciment collecting expedition in 1922. It returned in 1926 with more than 12,000 specimens. Known as the common grunt or white grunt, this marine fish is common in the western Atlantic Ocean from Maryland to Brazil. At its adult size, it averages 12 inches in length and weighs just under 10 pounds. It is a cream color with silver iridescence, and has with numerous yellow and blue horizontal stripes. These fish prefer coral reefs, docks and piers, mangrove swamps, and similar structures. They feed mainly on shrimp, but also eat bivalves (clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops), crustaceans, and worms. This fish has teeth in its throat (not the mouth). When threatened, it grinds them together creating a loud grunting sound. That's what it's called a "grunt". Date: 9 August 2018, 13:39. Source: white grunt - Voyage of the Blossom. Author: Tim Evanson from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA.