# Scamp vs. Yellowmouth



## FishinFreak (Oct 2, 2007)

I've been catching what I assume are Scamp on the wrecks in the Gulf, but they look so similar to Yellowmouth that I've been turning them back in fear that they may be Yellowmouth which have to be 20". Is there a "sure fire" way to differentiate a Scamp from a Yellowmouth? I've also heard that Yellowmouth are rare in the northern Gulf. Is this true? I'd appreciate any expert advice...


----------



## 192 (Oct 1, 2007)

The yellowmouth grouper has a lyre-shaped tail fin with extended upper and lower fin rays, very much like the scamp, which it resembles very closely. Like the scamp, it has a speckled and dotted brownish body coloration. While scamp may also have yellow on the corners and inside of the mouth, the yellowmouth grouper’s are brighter and more prominent. Apparently, the major distinguishing feature is that in yellowmouth grouper, the front and rear nostrils are the same size and in scamp the rear nostril is larger. There is some disagreement among scientists about whether these two fish are separate species or the same species.

Scamp have a speckled and dotted body coloration and usually have some yellow color on the corners of and inside their mouth. They are most easily identified by the lyre-shaped tail having its fin rays extended into streamers. It very closely resembles the yellowmouth grouper, but has less yellow pigment in and near the mouth. The major distinguishing feature between the two is that in the yellowmouth grouper, the front and rear nostrils are the same size, while in scamp the rear nostril is larger. There is some disagreement among scientists about whether these are two different species or the same species.


----------

