{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Haemulon vittatum.jpg | image_caption = A shoal of boga off the coast of [[Cuba]]. | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name = iucn>{{cite iucn | author1 = Anderson, W. | author2 =- Claro, R. | author3 = Cowan, J. | author4 = Lindeman, K. | author5 = Padovani-Ferreira, B. | author6 = Rocha, L.A. | author7 = Sedberry, G. | display-authors = 3 | year = 2015 | title = Haemulon vittatum |errata=2017 | article-number = e.T16509426A115361100 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T16509426A16510897.en | access-date = 1 April 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Haemulon vittatum | authority = ([[Felipe Poey y Aloy|Poey]], 1860) | synonyms = * ''Inermia vittata'' <small>Poey, 1860</small> * ''Haemulon vittata'' <small>(Poey, 1860)</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name = Fishbase>{{Fishbase|Haemulon|vittatum|month=December|year=2019}}</ref> }} '''''Haemulon vittatum''''', the '''boga''', is an [[ocean]]-going [[species]] of [[Haemulidae|grunt]] native to the western [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Bogas are also known as the ''snit'' in [[Jamaica]], and bonnetmouth in the [[Bahamas]].<ref name = Fishbase/> It was first described by [[Cubans|Cuban]] [[zoologist]] [[Felipe Poey]]. This species used to be classified as ''Inermia vittata'', but genetic data revealed that it belongs to the genus ''Haemulon''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rocha|first1=Luiz A.|last2=Lindeman|first2=Kenyon C.|last3=Rocha|first3=Claudia R.|last4=Lessios|first4=H. A.|date=2008-09-01|title=Historical biogeography and speciation in the reef fish genus Haemulon (Teleostei: Haemulidae)|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790308002698|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|language=en|volume=48|issue=3|pages=918–928|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.024|pmid=18599320 |bibcode=2008MolPE..48..918R |issn=1055-7903|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
==Description== [[File:Boga (Haemulon vittatum) at cleaning station.jpg|thumb|left|Boga at cleaning station. Note extended mouth.]] ''Haemulon vittatum'' is a [[spindle (textiles)|spindle]]-shaped fish. It has a deeply forked [[caudal fin]], and its two [[dorsal fins]] are close together. It is also able to protrude its [[mouth]] much further than many fishes,<ref name = randall>Randall, J.E. 1996 Caribbean reef fishes. Third edition - revised and enlarged. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., Hong Kong. 3rd ed. 368 p.</ref> hence the name [[Bonnet (headgear)|bonnet]]mouth. They usually have 14-15 [[spine (zoology)|spine]]s on their dorsal fins, but only 10 soft rays. They have two spines and 9 rays on their [[anal fin]]s, as well.<ref name = fishbase>{{FishBase_species|genus=Inermia |species=vittata|year=2009|month=08}}</ref> The longest recorded Boga was 23 cm in length<ref name = claro>Claro, R. 1994 Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo.</ref> The boga's life colors are generally greenish above, and blueish-white below. A greenish stripe, tinged with yellow, can be seen from the eye to the tail. Three similar stripes are on the back. The snout and dorsal fins are both yellowish or pale yellow, while the caudal fin is dusky violet. The pectoral fins are both rosy, and the anal and ventral fins are both white.<ref name = bohlke>Bohlke, James E. Charles C. G. Chaplin. Fishes of the Bahamas and Adjacent Tropical Waters. 2nd edition. Austin, UP of Texas. 305.</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== ''Haemulon vittatum'' is only known from the western [[Atlantic Ocean]] from [[Florida]] and the [[Bahamas]] south to northern [[South America]], including the [[Antilles]] and the [[Caribbean]].<ref name = smith>Smith, C.L. 1997 National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.</ref>
Occurring in open water,<ref name = lieske>Lieske, E. and R. Myers 1994 Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Harper Collins Publishers, 400 p.</ref> Bogas are sometimes found near coasts<ref name = lieske/> or over reefs<ref name = cervigon>Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez 1992 Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.</ref> they can mainly be found off of oceanic [[island]]s,<ref name = lieske/> where they feed on [[zooplankton]] and smaller fishes.<ref name = fishbase/> Bogas are occasionally sold fresh, and used as [[baitfish]];<ref name = fishbase/> they are known to be [[predation|preyed upon]] by the [[red hind]] (''[[Epinephelus guttatus]]''), a member of the [[grouper]] family.<ref name = randall1967>Randall, J.E. 1967 Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5: 665-847</ref>
==Systematics== ''Haemolon vittatum'' was first formally [[Species description|described]] as ''Inermia vittata'' in 1860 by the Cuban zoologist Felipe Poey (1799-1891) with the type locality given as [[Havana]].<ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus|genus=Haemulon|access-date=1 April 2021}}</ref> The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] ''vittatum'' means "banded", which is assumed to refer to the wide greenish stripe running from the eye to the base of caudal fin and the 3-4 brownish stripes above it.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/lutjaniformes/ | title = Order LUTJANIFORMES: Families HAEMULIDAE and LUTJANIDAE | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1 = Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | date = 5 January 2021 | access-date = 1 April 2021 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara | archive-date = 12 April 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210412135037/https://etyfish.org/lutjaniformes/ }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{sealifephotos|1021254}}
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[[Category:Haemulon|vittatum]] [[Category:Fauna of the Southeastern United States]] [[Category:Fish of the Caribbean]] [[Category:Fish described in 1860]]