Courtesy of Alfredo Cavalho Filho, alfie@telnet.com.br

	QuickTime (45K) Click this button to use any media player Long series of grunting sounds. From CD Supplement to: Sounds of the Western North Atlantic Fishes by Fish & Mowbray, 1970. CD ©University of Rhode Island, 2001

Life History and Habitat
The barred grunt occurs from the northern Gulf of Mexico through the Caribbean to Brazil. Adults inhabit deeper waters (up to 100 m) over rock or coral bottoms during the day but move inshore during the night to feed. Juveniles remain primarily in estuaries or nearshore seagrass beds. This species reaches maturity by its second or third year and reaches an estimated maximum age of 10 years.

Sound Production
Grunts possess prominent pharyngeal teeth. Stridulation of the pharyngeal teeth produces sounds which are then amplified by the swim bladder. These sounds may be associated with feeding but can also function as a fright response when the fish is captured, handled or otherwise distressed. Both males and females produce sounds.

References
• FishBase.org: Barred Grunt Species Summary
• Fish, M.P. and Mowbray, H.M. 1970. Sounds of Western North Atlantic Fishes. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Press. p. 90.
• Hoese, H.D. and Moore, R.H. 1998. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico: Texas, Louisiana, and Adjacent Waters. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas 77843
• Robins, C.R. and Ray, G.C. 1986. Atlantic Coast Fishes. Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003 p.177.