Haemulon parra

Haemulon parra, known as the sailor's grunt or sailor's choice, is a grunt species found in the Atlantic Ocean. Its genus name derives from the Greek haimaleos, meaning "bloody," and the species name is Latin for "sparrow." Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest first described it in 1823.

The fish has a dull head with a small to medium mouth, lacking fleshy lips. Scales cover part of the eye near the back, and the chin has two small openings with a single furrow down the middle. The eye's edges are typically yellow or bronze.

Adults are silver and grey, with dotted black stripes running along their sides. Juveniles have four black stripes over a white body and a spot on the tail fin. The longest recorded individual measured 41.2 cm (16.2 in).

This species lives in the western Atlantic, from Florida to Brazil, and also enters the Gulf of Mexico. It prefers reefs and hard bottoms at depths from 0 to 80 m (0–262 ft). Juveniles are more drawn to seagrass beds, while adults school and can be seen in more open areas. It feeds at night on mollusks and fish.

Humans fish for it on a small commercial scale, and it sometimes appears in aquariums. In March 2011, the International Union for Conservation of Nature evaluated Haemulon parra and listed it as Least Concern.