French Grunt

H. flavolineatum has an almond-shaped body, which is compressed and ends in a blunt snout. The small to medium-sized mouth has thick lips and has narrow bands of teeth on each jaw, the outer line of teeth being conical in shape, and no teeth on the roof of the mouth. It has a continuous dorsal fin with a small to medium-sized notch. The dorsal fin contains 12 spines and 14-15 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 8 soft rays. The background colour of this fish is whitish to bluish or yellowish, with three vivid yellow to orange horizontal stripes above the lateral line and a number of similarly coloured oblique stripes below it. There are yellow spots on the lower surface of the head and the inside of the mouth is red. It has yellow fins and a white abdomen. This species attains a maximum total length of 30 cm (12 in), although 17 cm (6.7 in) is more typical.

H. flavolineatum is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from South Carolina and Bermuda in the north, along the coast of the United States to the Bahamas, into the southern Gulf of Mexico including the Florida Keys, from Tuxpan in Mexico eastwards along the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula to northwestern Cuba, and south into the Caribbean Sea as far as Trinidad.

H. flavolineatum is an abundant species within its range, and is caught using traps and seines. The catch is not recorded separately for this species. The flesh is normally sold fresh. Off Barbados it is one of the commoner species caught in fisheries. It is rare in the aquarium trade, but is more common in public aquarium displays.