Haemulidae is a family of fishes in the order Acanthuriformes known commonly as grunts. It is made up of the two subfamilies Haemulinae (grunts) and Plectorhynchinae (sweetlips), which contain about 133 species in 19 genera around the world. These fishes are commonly found in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions, inhabiting marine, brackish, and sometimes fresh waters.
The family shows many feeding adaptations from bottom-feeding predation to water-column planktivory and is named for the ability of Haemulinae to produce sounds by grinding their pharyngeal teeth. Some species engage in mutualistic relationships with cleaner gobies of the genus Elacatinus, allowing them to feed on ectoparasites on their bodies.
Subfamilies and genera The family Haemulidae is divided into the following subfamilies and genera:
Haemulinae Anisotremus Gill 1861 Boridia Cuvier, 1830 Brachydeuterus Gill, 1862 Brachygenys Poey, 1868 Conodon Cuvier, 1830 Emmelichthyops Schultz, 1945 Haemulon Cuvier, 1829 Haemulopsis Steindachner, 1869 Isacia Jordan & Fesler, 1893 Microlepidotus Gill, 1862 Orthopristis Girard, 1858 Parakuhlia Pellegrin, 1913 Paranisotremus Tavera, Acero & Wainwright, 2018 Pomadasys Lacépède, 1802 Rhencus Jordan & Evermann, 1896 Rhonciscus Jordan & Evermann, 1896 Xenichthys Gill, 1862 Plectorhynchinae Diagramma Oken, 1817 Genyatremus Gill, 1862 Parapristipoma Bleeker, 1873 Plectorhinchus Lacépède, 1802 One of the earliest known fossil grunts is †Pomadasys sadeki (Joleaud & Cuvillier, 1933) (formerly placed in its own genus, Kemtichthys) from the Middle Eocene-aged Mokattam Formation of Egypt.
See also List of fish families
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