Latin Grunt: The Reef's Fine-Lined Schooler

Look closely at a shimmering school of grunts and you may notice some wear delicate wavy lines along the body — those are Latin grunts, a common schooling fish on the Pacific reef. Here's how to spot them near Jacó, plus five fun facts.

Latin Grunt · Haemulon steindachneri

How to spot the latin grunt near Jacó

Look for mid-sized silvery fish schooling near rocky reefs, often mixed in with other grunts. Up close you'll see fine, wavy lines running along the body and a darker smudge near the base of the tail. They drift in easy, shifting groups.

5 fun facts about the latin grunt

• Named for a scientist. The scientific name honors Franz Steindachner, a 19th-century ichthyologist who described many fish from this coast.
• A grunt through and through. It makes the family's signature grunting sound by grinding teeth in the throat, amplified by the swim bladder.
• Lives on both coasts of the tropics. Unusually, close relatives of this grunt turn up on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Americas.
• Mixed-school traveler. Latin grunts often school alongside other grunt species, blending into the larger group.
• Night-shift feeder. By day it rests in the school; after dark it moves over sand and rubble to hunt small bottom creatures.

The latin grunt is just one of many characters down there. See the whole cast in our Snorkel Jaco fish directory, or read real guest photos and reviews on the Snorkel Jaco reviews.