Porkfish

Anisotremus virginicus, the porkfish, also known as the Atlantic porkfish, sweetlips, dogfish, or paragrate grunt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean.

Habitat

Anisotremus virginicus inhabits reefs and areas of rock substrate in shallow inshore waters at depths of 2.0–20 m (6.6–65.6 ft). The juveniles are found in beds of sea grass. It is a nocturnal species, which frequently moves around in large schools, occasionally swimming with white grunts. This species can produce a grunting sound, as can all the grunts, by grinding its teeth together. It feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates such as molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, polychaetes, and annelids. The juveniles act as cleaner fish, picking parasites from the skin and scales of other species of fish.

Distribution

Anisotremus virginicus is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from northeastern Florida south along its Atlantic coast to the Bahamas, then westwards into the Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Keys north to New Port Richey on Florida's Gulf Coast. Within the gulf, it is found at the Flower Garden Banks and on the Mexican coast as far south as the northern Yucatan Peninsula and also northwestern Cuba. It then ranges southwards throughout the Caribbean Sea, to South America as far south as Rio de Janeiro. It can also be found at Fernando de Noronha and Atoll das Rocas. It is found at Bermuda, where it was introduced.