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Albacore
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| The body of the albacore tapers at both ends (cigar-shaped). The head is long and the mouth fairly large. The color is dark gray to metallic blue on the back becoming white to gray below. Albacore are easily distinguished from the other tunas occurring off California, with exception of the bigeye, by the extreme length of their pectoral fins (they extend well past the anal fin). Albacore and bigeye can best be distinguished by the characteristics of their livers. The albacore has a heavily striated (covered with blood vessels) liver while the liver of the bigeye is only lightly striated along the edges. |
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Barred Surfperch
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| The body of the barred surfperch is oval and compressed. The head is blunt and the mouth is comparatively large. The color is olive green to yellow green on the back becoming silver below; with bronze, brassy or yellow vertical bars and spots on the side. This surfperch is one of three living off sandy beaches with similar color markings; however, it can be distinguished from the other two (calico and redtail) by its lower jaw being slightly shorter than the upper, and by the absence of red or reddish color on its fins. |
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Bat Ray
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| The bat ray has a distinct head that is elevated above the disk. The tail is whip-like and as long or longer than the width of the disk with the sting located just behind the body. The color is dark brown to dark olive or almost black above and white below. This species can be distinguished from manta rays or mobulas (that rarely occur off California) by the absence of the arm-like projections manta rays and mobulas have on their heads. |
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Bigeye Tuna
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| The body of the bigeye tuna is cigar-shaped (tapered at both ends). The head is pointed and the eye is relatively large. The color is dark metallic brownish blue to dark yellow on the back becoming gray or whitish below. There often is a bluish stripe on the side. In most individuals, the length of the pectoral fins should enable one to identify the species properly. Both bigeye and yellowfin tuna look similar, but bigeye tuna have pectoral fins which extend well past their anal fin, while yellowfin tuna have much shorter pectoral fins. Tuna which cannot be distinguished by external characteristics can be positively identified by liver characteristics. Bigeye tuna livers are striated (covered with blood vessels) along the trailing edges, while yellowfin tuna livers are smooth. Small bigeye tuna also may be distinguished from albacore by the characteristics of the liver. The liver is heavily striated in the albacore while the bigeye tuna liver is only striated along the trailing edges. |
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Black Rockfish
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| The body of the black rockfish is oval or egg-shaped and compressed. The head has a steep upper profile which is almost straight; the mouth is large and the lower jaw projects slightly. The color is brown to black on the back, paler on the sides, and dirty white below. There are black spots on the dorsal fin. This species is easily confused with the blue rockfish; however, the anal fin of the black rockfish is rounded while the anal fin of the blue rockfish is slanted or straight. The black rockfish has spots on the dorsal fin, the blue rockfish does not. |
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Blue Rockfish
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| The body of the blue rockfish is oval or egg-shaped and compressed with similar dorsal and ventral profiles. The head is relatively short and bluntly pointed. The mouth is relatively small with the lower jaw slightly projecting. The color is dark blue or olive brown to grayish black on the back becoming lighter below; blotched with lighter shades on back and sides. The presence of five spines on the preopercle (gill cover), easily distinguish this species as a rockfish rather than a perch, a bass or a halfmoon which is of similar color. The black rockfish can be confused with this species; however, the black rockfish has spots on the dorsal fin while the blue rockfish does not. The anal fin of the black rockfish is rounded while that of the blue rockfish is slanted or straight. |
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Blue Shark
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| The body of the blue shark is elongate and slender. Its head is slender and the snout is long and pointed. The color is blue or light bluish gray above and white below. This species has up to three rows of functional teeth in each jaw and there are 14 or 15 serrated teeth in each side of each jaw. The pectoral fins are long and sickle shaped. |
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Bluefin Tuna
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| The body of the bluefin tuna is cigar-shaped and robust. The head is conical and the mouth rather large. The color is dark blue above and gray below. Bluefin tuna can easily be distinguished from other members of the tuna family by the relatively short length of their pectoral fins. Their livers have a unique and definitive characteristic in that they are covered with blood vessels (striated). In other tunas with short pectoral fins, such vessels are either not present or present in small numbers along the edges. |
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Bocaccio
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| The body of the bocaccio is elongate and compressed. The head is pointed, the mouth large, and the lower jaw greatly protruding. The color varies from shades of brown to reddish and extends down over the belly. Young fish are generally light bronze with speckling over the sides and back. As they mature, their color generally becomes darker and the speckling gradually disappears. |
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Brown Smoothhound
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| The body of the brown smoothhound is elongate, slender, tapering from behind the dorsal fin to the long slender tail. The snout is comparatively long and flattened. The color is brown or bronze above and silvery below. The back one-fifth of the dorsal fin is without scales. The teeth are blunt, without sharp points. The brown and other smoothhounds can be distinguished from the soupfin shark since their second dorsal fins originate well in advance of the beginning of the anal fin; while in the soupfin, the second dorsal begins behind the origin of the anal fin. |
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Cabezon
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| The body of the cabezon is elongate and stout. The head is large, broad and the snout is bluntly rounded. The mouth is large. The color is usually dark brown, but a variety of colors ranging from blue green to reddish brown occur and there is much mottling. It looks somewhat like the lingcod, and sometimes has blue colored flesh. It is a member of the true sculpin family and it can best be distinguished from the similar looking lingcod by: the absence of scales on its body; and by the presence of a small flap of skin, a cirrus, over each eye and in the middle of the snout. The lining of its mouth is a pale to dark blue and it also lacks the large teeth of the lingcod. |
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California Barracuda
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| The body of the California barracuda is very elongate and slender, and almost round. The mouth is large with canine-like teeth. It has a sharply pointed snout with a projecting lower jaw. The color is grayish black with a bluish tinge on the back becoming silvery or white on the sides and belly. The tail is yellowish and the dorsal fins are widely spaced. |
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California Corbina
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| The body of the California corbina is elongate and slightly compressed. The head is long and the mouth is small, the upper jaw scarcely reaching a point below the front of the eye. The color is uniform grey with incandescent reflections, and with wavy diagonal lines on the sides. This croaker and the yellowfin croaker are the only two of the eight coastal croakers present in California waters to have a single fleshy projection, or barbel, on the lower jaw. The California corbina usually has only one weak spine at the front of the anal fin, while the yellowfin croaker has two strong spines. |
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California Grunion
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| The California grunion has an elongate body and head that are more or less compressed. The mouth is small. The scales are small, smooth and firm. This species is bluish green above, silvery below, and a bright silvery band tinged with blue and bordered above with violet extends the length of the body. |
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California Halibut
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| The body of the California halibut is oblong and compressed. The head is small and the mouth large. Although a member of the left-eyed flounder family, about 40 percent of California halibut have their eyes on the right side. The color is dark brown to black on the eyed side and white on the blind side. Their numerous teeth, very large mouth and a high arch in the middle of the "top" side above the pectoral fin make them easily distinguishable from other flatfish. |
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California Lizardfish
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| The California lizardfish has an elongate cylindrical body with a head and mouth which are lizard-like in appearance. The body is a uniform brown on the back and sides shading to tan or white on the belly. Because of its elongated body and mouth full of sharp teeth, California lizardfish are occasionally mistaken for the California barracuda. The barracuda, however, is silvery rather than brown and has two dorsal fins of approximately equal size with a wide space between them. The lizardfish has only a single dorsal fin with a tiny fleshy fin behind it. |
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California Sheephead
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| The body of the California sheephead is elongate, robust, and compressed. This species is a "protogynous hermaphrodite"; meaning that it begins life as a female, but then becomes a male later in life. Females mature at about 8 inches in length when they reach 4 to 5 years of age. Most females transform to males at a length of about 12 inches at 7 to 8 years of age. This sex change is accompanied by a marked change in appearance. Younger fish (females) are a uniform pinkish red with a white lower jaw. As they age and become males, the head and rear third of the body turns black, the midsection of the body remains red and the lower jaw remains white. In all stages of their development, sheephead have unusually large dog-like teeth. |
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Canary Rockfish
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| The body of the canary rockfish is elongate, moderately deep and compressed. The head is large with an upper profile that is somewhat curved. The color is yellow orange with gray mottling on the back and paler, near white, below. The fins are also yellow orange. The middle of the sides are in a clear, gray zone. There is often a black spot near the back of the first dorsal fin in fish shorter than 14 inches. Although the canary rockfish resembles the vermilion rock fish superficially, the two are easily separated. The underside of the lower jaw of the canary rockfish has no scales and feels smooth to the touch when rubbed from back to front. The vermilion rockfish has scales on the underside of its lower jaw so that it feels rough when rubbed forward. |
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Chilipepper
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| The body of the chilipepper is slender and rather elongate. The head is elongate, pointed and with no spines; the lower jaw is projecting. The chilipepper is generally pinkish becoming whitish below. The middle of the chillipepper's side, the lateral line, stands out clearly, as a lighter, bright red zone. In comparison to the bocaccio, it has a smaller mouth with an upper jaw that extends only to about the center of the eye, not past it. |
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Chinook (King) Salmon
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| The body of the chinook salmon is elongate and somewhat compressed. The head is conical. The color is bluish to dark gray above, becoming silvery on the sides and belly. There are black spots on the back and on both lobes of the tail. While five species of salmon occur along the Pacific Coast, over 99% of all salmon caught in the ocean off California are either chinook or cohos. Chinook and coho salmon can be distinguished by the color of the lining of the gums at the base of the teeth. In chinook salmon, this lining is blackish, while in cohos it is white. |
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Coho (Silver) Salmon
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| The body of the coho salmon is elongate and somewhat compressed. The head is conical. This species is dark metallic blue or blue green above, becoming silvery on the sides and belly. There are spots on the back. The main distinguishing feature between the coho and chinook salmon is the color of the gums at the base of the teeth. Chinook salmon have a blackish lining while coho has a white lining. Cohos also have black spots only on the upper part of the tail fin, whereas chinook tail fins are completely covered with black spots. |
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Common Thresher Shark
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| The body of the common thresher shark is moderately elongate. The snout is rather short, and the mouth crescent shaped. The first dorsal fin is large, and located midway between the pectoral and ventral fins. The second dorsal and anal fins are very small. The tail is distinctive since it is very long, almost as long as the rest of the body. The coloration may vary from brownish gray, bluish or blackish above to silvery, bluish or golden below. The dorsal, pectoral and ventral fins are blackish and sometimes the pectoral and ventral fins have a white dot in the lip. The bigeye thresher also occurs off the California coast. It can be distinguished by its large eye; however, if you can count the teeth in the upper jaw, the common thresher has 21 - 22 on each side while the bigeye thresher has 10 - 11 on each side. |
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Copper Rockfish
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| The body of the copper rockfish is moderately deep and compressed. The head is large with a slightly curved upper profile; the mouth is large and the lower jaw projects slightly. The color is copper brown to orange tinged with pink. The back two-thirds of the sides are a clear, light pink area; the belly is white. |
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Cowcod
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| The body and head of the cowcod are somewhat compressed. The head is very large. The mouth is large with a projecting lower jaw. Adults are uniform pale pink to orange in color. Young fish have four dark vertical bands on their sides which gradually fade into dusky blotches as they increase in size. Their heads are large and spined, the dorsal fins are deeply notched, and there is an unusually wide space between the eye and the upper jaw. These three characteristics help to distinguish cowcod from other reddish colored rockfish. |
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Giant Kelpfish
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| The body of the giant kelpfish is very elongate and compressed. The head is slender, compressed and pointed. The color may vary from light brown to green and purple with lighter areas of mottling. Giant kelpfish are easily separated from other family members because they are the only ones with forked tails; other members have rounded tails. |
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Gray Smoothhound
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| The body of the gray smoothhound is elongate, slender, tapering from behind the dorsal fin to a long slender tail. The snout is comparatively long and flattened. The color is brown to dark gray above and whitish below. The gray smoothhound can be distinguished from other smoothhounds by scales present on the posterior one-fifth of the dorsal fin and the teeth having sharp points. |
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Green Sturgeon
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| The body of the green sturgeon is long, roughly cylindrical and has five rows of bony plates on its back. The snout is narrow, long, and cone-shaped, and more or less depressed below the level of the forehead. The mouth is toothless, protruding, and sucker-like. Four fleshy projections, or barbels, extend from the underside of the snout. The color is olive green above, whitish below, with olive stripes on the sides. The green sturgeon can be distinguished by its olive green color, the number of bony plates along the side of the body (mid lateral plates; 23 to 30), a very pointed snout, and the barbels are closer to the mouth than to the tip of the snout. |
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Greenspotted Rockfish
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| The body of the greenspotted rockfish is elongate and moderately compressed. The upper profile of the head is rather steep with a nearly straight slope. The jaws are even when closed. The color is yellow pink with distinct green spots over the back and top of the head. There are three to five white blotches with green borders along the upper back, and the pectoral fins carry 17 rays. The underside of the lower jaw has no scales and is smooth to the touch. Two other species, the greenblotched rockfish and pink rock fish, are nearly identical to the greenspotted rockfish. Nevertheless, they can be distinguished from the greenspotted rockfish by the small patches of scales on the underside of their lower jaws. These two look-alike species attain a larger size than the greenspotted rockfish, but are not encountered as frequently since they usually inhabit deeper water. |
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Halfmoon
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| The body of the halfmoon is oval and compressed. The head is blunt and rounded and the mouth is small. The color is dark blue above, shading to blue gray on the sides and becoming white below. The tail is halfmoon shaped. The soft rays of the dorsal and anal fins are nearly hidden by a thick sheath of scales. The halfmoon most closely resembles the blue rockfish, but lacks the 5 spines on the front section of the gill cover, which are common to all rockfishes. |
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Jacksmelt
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| The body of the jacksmelt is elongate and somewhat compressed. The head is oblong and compressed, and the eyes and mouth are small. The color is greenish blue above, silver below, with a metallic stripe bordered with blue extending the length of the body. Jacksmelt, topsmelt, and California grunion are members of the silversides family and are not considered true smelt. These three species look very similar except for the location of the first dorsal fin. In the jacksmelt, the first dorsal fin is forward of a line drawn perpendicular to the vent (anus); in the topsmelt, it is just about over the vent and in the grunion, it is behind the vent. |
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Kelp Greenling
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| The body of the kelp greenling is elongate and somewhat compressed. The head is conical, blunt in profile, and the mouth is rather small. Male and female kelp greenling can be readily distinguished by their coloration. The forepart of the body of the male has numerous sky blue spots, each surrounded by a ring of rusty spots. The female is rather uniformly covered with round reddish brown spots. Certainly, the kelp greenling is one of the most boldly colored fishes found along our coast. The kelp greenling has small, unfringed flaps of skin (cirri) over the eyes and the mouth is yellowish inside; whereas, the rock greenling has a pair of large, fringed flaps of skin over the eyes and the inside of the mouth is bluish. |
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Leopard Shark
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| The body of the leopard shark is elongate, and the snout is short and bluntly rounded. This shark is easily identified by the gray coloration over most of its body, and the black spots and crossbars on the back and side. It is white underneath. |
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Lingcod
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| The body of the lingcod is elongate, tapering and only slightly compressed. The head is elongate and conical, the mouth is large with numerous large teeth. Lingcod are generally dark brown with lots of spots and blotches on the upper part of the body, but come in a variety of colors ranging from blue green to red brown. |
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Longfin Sanddab
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| The body of the longfin sanddab is oblong and compressed. The head is deep; the eyes are large and on the left side. The mouth is large. The color is uniform dark brown with rust orange or white speckles, and the pectoral fin is black on the eyed side; the blind side is white. The longfin sanddab can best be distinguished from the Pacific sanddab by the length of the pectoral fin on the eyed side. It is always shorter than the head on the Pacific sanddab and longer than the head on the longfin. Sanddabs are always left "handed" and can be distinguished from all other left "handed" flatfish by having a mid-line that is nearly straight for its entire length. |
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Olive Rockfish
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| The body of the olive rockfish is elongate and compressed. The upper profile of the head is almost straight, and the snout is long and pointed. The lower jaw is projecting. The olive rockfish is dark olive brown on the back, often with some light areas under the dorsal fin. The sides are a lighter olive green, and the fins are yellow. This species is very similar in appearance to the yellowtail rockfish. The olive rockfish always has nine soft rays in the anal fin; the yellowtail rockfish usually has eight. |
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Opaleye
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| The body of the opaleye is oval and compressed. The snout is thick with an evenly rounded profile. The mouth is small. The color is dark olive green, and most have one or two white spots on each side of the back under the middle of the dorsal fin. The opaleye is California's only representative of the nibbler family. Bright blue eyes and the heavy, olive green, perch-like body quickly distinguish it from any other species. |
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Pacific Bonito
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| The body of the Pacific bonito is cigar-shaped and somewhat compressed. The head is pointed and conical, and the mouth is large. The color is dark blue above, dusky on the sides becoming silvery below. There is a number of slanted darkish stripes along the back. Pacific bonito are the only tuna-like fishes on the California coast that have the slanted dark stripes on their backs. |
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Pacific Hake (Pacific Whiting)
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| The body of the Pacific hake is elongate, slender, and moderately compressed. The head is elongate and the mouth large. The color is gray to dusky brown, with brassy overtones and black speckles on the back. The elongated shape, notched second dorsal and anal fin, and the coloration separate Pacific hake from other fish in this group. |
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Pacific Halibut
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| The body of the Pacific halibut is elongate, rather slender, diamond shaped and compressed. The head is elongate and the mouth is large. Both eyes are on the right side of the body. The color of the body is dark brown to black with fine mottling on the eyed side and white on blind side. The Pacific halibut can be distinguished from the California halibut by looking at the end of the jaw. In the Pacific halibut, it extends to the front edge of the eye, while in the California halibut it extends beyond the eye. |
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Pacific Mackerel
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| The body of the Pacific mackerel tapers at both ends, is rather elongate, and somewhat compressed. The head is pointed and the mouth is large. The head is dark blue, the back is dark blue with about 30 dark wavy lines, and the undersides are silver green. The widely separated first and second dorsal fins serve to distinguish Pacific mackerel from all of the other tuna-like fishes that inhabit our waters, except for the frigate and bullet mackerel. Pacific mackerel and bullet mackerel can be differentiated by counting the dorsal finlets. Pacific mackerel typically have four to six, while bullet and frigate mackerel have seven to eight finlets. |
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Pacific Sanddab
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| The body of the Pacific sanddab is oblong and compressed. The head is deep; the eyes are on the left-side and are large. The color is light brown mottled with yellow and orange on the eyed side and white on the blind side. Although three kinds of sanddabs live in the waters off California, only two are commonly used for food ­ the Pacific and longfin sanddabs. The third, the speckled sanddab, is so small (only about 5 inches) that it is only important to the diet of other fishes. The Pacific sanddab can best be distinguished from the longfin sanddab by the length of the pectoral fin on the eyed side. It is always shorter than the head of the Pacific sanddab and longer than the head of the longfin. Sanddabs are always left "handed" (eyes on the left) and can be distinguished from all other left "handed" flatfish by having a midline that is nearly straight for its entire length. |
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Pacific Staghorn Sculpin
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| The body of the Pacific staghorn sculpin is elongate and scaleless. The head is long and depressed, and the mouth is large. The body coloration often blends with its environment and shows such varieties as greenish brown or gray above, and white to yellow below. The spinous dorsal fin has an obvious black spot and the pectoral fins are yellowish with dark cross bars. The most striking characteristic of this species is an antler-like spine located just forward of the gill cover. |
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Pacific Tomcod
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| The body of the Pacific tomcod is elongated, slender and moderately compressed. The head is elongate and there is a small fleshy projection, a barbel, on the lower jaw. The color is olive green above, creamy white below, and the fins have dusky tips. Three spineless dorsal fins and the small chin barbel separate the Pacific tomcod from any similar appearing fish, except its cousin, the Pacific cod. The Pacific cod has a barbel as long as the diameter of the eye while the Pacific tomcod has a barbel that is less than one half the diameter of the eye. The Pacific tomcod is a member of the true cod family. It is one of the smaller members of the group and is often confused with the white croaker. Again, the three spineless dorsal fins will distinguish this species from the others. |
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Petrale Sole
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| The body of the petrale sole is elongate, moderately slender and compressed. The head is deep, and the mouth is large. The eyes are large and on the right side. The color is uniform dark to light brown with dusky blotches on the dorsal and anal fins on the eyed side and white on the blind side. Petrale sole are often confused with California halibut because of their similar color and large mouths. However, petrale sole have an even, brown coloration and do not have a high arch in the lateral line. |
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Queenfish
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| The body of the queenfish is elongate and moderately compressed. The head is compressed with the upper profile depressed over the eyes. The mouth is large. The color is bluish above becoming silvery below and the fins are yellowish. Queenfish can be distinguished from other croakers by their large mouth, the base of the second dorsal and anal fins being about equal, and the wide space between the two dorsal fins. |
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Redtail Surfperch
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| The body of the redtail surfperch is oval and compressed. The upper profile of the head is nearly straight from the snout to the dorsal fin except for a slight depression above the eye. The body color is silver with olive green mottling and bars on the side. The tail is pink to deep purple. This species can be separated from the other two species that live off sandy beaches and have similar color markings (barred and calico surfperch) by the red to deep purple tail and the spines in the dorsal fin, which are longer than the soft rays. |
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Round Stingray
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| The disk of the round stingray is nearly circular. The back of this species is brown, often mottled or spotted, and the underside is white to orange. The round stingray is one of six rays found in California waters which have a stinger on the tail. It can be distinguished from the others since it is the only one with a true tail fin. The others have either a whip-like tail or very short tail with no fin membrane. |
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Rubberlip Surfperch
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| The body of the rubberlip surfperch is oval and compressed. The mouth is comparatively large and the lips are extremely thick. The lower jaw is slightly shorter than the upper. The color is variable but it is generally whitish with brown to brassy overtones on the back fading to tan below. The lips are whitish or pink. Juveniles have one or two vertical dusky bars on the body, although these usually are not found on adults. Its large size and thick prominent lips distinguish it from all other surfperches. |
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Sablefish
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| The body of the sablefish is quite elongate, slightly compressed and tapering to the tail. The head is rather large and elongate. The sablefish is blackish gray on the back and sides, and gray to white below. Two well separated dorsal fins, very small teeth and the uniform coloration distinguishes this species. |
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Sculpin
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| The body of the sculpin is stocky and slightly compressed. The head and mouth are large, as are the pectoral fins. The color is red to brown, with dark blotches and spotting over the body and fins. |
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Shiner Surfperch
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| The body of the shiner surfperch is elongate oval and compressed. The head is short and the mouth is small. The body is gray to greenish above with vertical lemon yellow cross bars in the shape of a "711" and eight horizontal sooty lines along the sides. During courtship and breeding the males are dark gray, almost black, in color and have a black spot on each side of the snout. The island surfperch is a close relative found around the channel islands off southern California. This species is much more slender than the shiner surfperch. |
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Shortfin Mako or Bonito Shark
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| The body of the shortfin mako (bonito) shark is elongate but rather stout. The snout is long and pointed. The first dorsal and the pectoral fins are large, but the second dorsal and anal fins are very small. This species is a deep blue or dark gray above and white below. There is a black spot at the base of the pectorals. |
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Shovelnose Guitarfish
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| The body of the shovelnose guitarfish is depressed and gradually tapers into the tail; the disk is longer than wide. The snout is rather long and rounded at the tip. The color is gray above becoming lighter below. This species is distinguished from the banded guitarfish by the absence of dark crossbars on the back. It can be separated from most others of this flattened and plated group by the presence of a tail fin and two dorsal fins. Its sharp pointed nose distinguishes it from the other guitarfishes. |
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Silver Surfperch
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| The body of the silver surfperch is oval and strongly compressed. The head is small and the mouth is moderately large. The body is silvery with dusky (brownish to gray) coloration on the back and dusky bars on the sides. The tail is usually pink with an occasional orange spot on the anal fin. The specific name <EM>ellipticum </EM>refers to its elliptical body out- line. It looks similar to the walleye surfperch but lacks the silver coloration on its pelvic fins. |
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Skipjack
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| The body of the skipjack is cigar-shaped (tapers at both ends). The snout is sharply pointed and the mouth is relatively large. The color is dark blue to purple on the back become silvery or white below, with four to six dark horizontal stripes on the belly. |
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Spiny Dogfish
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| The body of the spiny dogfish is elongate and slender. The head is pointed. The color is slate gray to brownish on top, sometimes with white spots, becoming white below. This species and the horn shark are the only sharks along the California coast with spines at the beginning of both dorsal fins. These spines may be mildly poisonous and provide a defense for the spiny dogfish. |
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Spotfin Croaker
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| The body of the spotfin croaker is elongate, but heavy forward. The upper profile of the head is steep and slightly curved, and abruptly rounded at the very blunt snout. The mouth is underneath the head (subterminal). The color is silvery gray with bluish luster above and white below. There are dark wavy lines on the side, and a large black spot at the base of the pectoral fin. The subterminal mouth, absence of a fleshy barbel and the large black spot at the base of the pectoral fin distinguish spotfin croakers from all other California croakers. Small "spotties" are sometimes confused with small white croakers, but a count of the dorsal fin spines will quickly separate them; the spotfin croaker has 11 or fewer (usually 10), while the white croaker as 12 to 15. So-called "golden croakers" are nothing more than large male spotfin croakers in breeding colors. |
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Starry Flounder
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| The body of the starry flounder is broad, relatively short, somewhat diamond shaped and compressed. The head is relatively short and the eyes and mouth are small, the lower jaw slightly projecting. While a member of the right-eyed flounder family; the majority of starry flounders are left-eyed. The color is dark brown on the eyed side with alternating white to orange and black bars on the dorsal and anal fins; white on the blind side. Its name comes from the rough, star-like scales on the eyed-side. |
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Starry Rockfish
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| The body of the starry rockfish is elongate, robust, heavy forward tapering to the tail. The head is rather pointed in profile and the mouth is large with the lower jaw projecting only slightly beyond the upper jaw when the mouth is closed. The body is red orange and profusely covered with small white spots. There are four or five large whitish blotches along the back. It is a very distinctive fish that is not easily confused with any other rockfish. |
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Striped Marlin
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| The body of the striped marlin is elongate and compressed. The upper jaw is much extended, forming a rounded spear. The color is dark blue above becoming silver below, with light blue bars or vertical spots on the sides. Of the billfishes that occur in California waters, the striped marlin is difficult to confuse with the others. Marlin have scales, fins on the belly, and a rounded spear which set them apart from swordfish which have no scales or ventral fins and have bills that are flat. Sailfish have an extremely high dorsal fin not found among the marlins, and shortnose spearfish do not have the long spear on the upper jaw nor the body weight of the marlin. The striped marlin normally develops conspicuous stripes along the sides of its body after death. This feature is unique to striped marlin. |
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Swordfish
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| The body of the swordfish is elongate and somewhat compressed. The upper jaw is very much extended, forming a long, flat sword. The color is dark gray to black above becoming gray to yellowish below. Swordfish are readily distinguished from other billfish by their flattened bills, lack of fins on the belly, and the presence of only one keel (small projection) on the base of the tail adjoining the fish. |
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Vermilion Rockfish
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| The body of the vermilion rockfish is moderately deep and compressed. The upper profile of the head is some what curved; the mouth is large, with the lower jaw slightly projecting. The color is bright red on the body and fins; many with black and gray mottling on back and sides. On fish shorter than 12 inches, the mottling is much more apparent and the fins are often edged with black. The yelloweye and canary rockfishes are similar in appearance to the vermilion, but the bottom of the yelloweye and canary's lower jaws are scaleless and feels smooth to the touch. The vermilion rockfish has scales on the bottom of the lower jaw which make it rough to the touch. |
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Walleye Surfperch
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| The body of the walleye surfperch is oval and strongly compressed. The head is small and the eyes are large. The mouth is small and slanted downward. The color is silver with faint dusky shading on the back. The tips of the ventral fins are black as are the borders of the anal fin and tail. The walleye surfperch can be distinguished from other surf- perch by the distinctive black tips on the ventral fins and black borders on the tail and anal fins. |
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White Croaker
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| The body of the white croaker is elongate and somewhat compressed. The head is oblong and bluntly rounded, with a mouth that is somewhat underneath the head. The color is incandescent brownish to yellowish on the back becoming silvery below. The fins are yellow to white. The white croaker is one of five California croakers that have mouths located under their heads (subterminal). They can be distinguished from the California corbina and yellowfin croaker by the absence of a single fleshy projection, or barbel, at the tip of the lower jaw. The 12 to 15 spines in the first dorsal fin serve to distinguish white croakers from all the other croakers with sub- terminal mouths, since none of these has more than 11 spines in this fin. |
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White Seabass
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| The body of the white seabass is elongate, and somewhat compressed. The head is pointed and slightly compressed. The mouth is large, with a row of small teeth in the roof; the lower jaw slightly projects. The color is bluish to gray above, with dark speckling, becoming silver below. The young have several dark vertical bars. The white seabass is closely related to the California corbina, but is the only California member of the croaker family to exceed 20 pounds in weight. They are most easily separated from other croakers by the presence of a ridge running the length of the belly. |
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White Sturgeon
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| The body of the white sturgeon is long, roughly cylindrical, and has five rows of bony plates on its back. The snout is bluntly rounded and more or less depressed below the level of the forehead. The mouth is toothless, protruding, and sucker-like. Four fleshy projections, or barbels, extend from the underside of the snout. The fish is overall gray in color. The white sturgeon can be distinguished from the green sturgeon by its overall grey color, 38 to 48 bony plates along the side, a round snout, and the barbels are closer to the tip of the snout than to the mouth. |
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Widow Rockfish
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| The body of the widow rockfish is elongate and compressed. The head is relatively short, and the upper profile is slightly curved. The mouth is relatively small, the lower jaw projects slightly. The color is brassy brown over most of the body with the belly generally lighter in color, often with a reddish cast. The fin membranes, particularly in the anal and pectoral fins, are black. Specimens smaller than 10 inches are lighter in color and are tinged with vague streaks of orange. |
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Yellowfin Croaker
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| The body of the yellowfin croaker is elliptical-elongate with the back somewhat arched. The head is conical and blunt. The color is iridescent blue to gray with brassy reflections on the back diffusing to silvery white below. The sides and back have many diagonal dark wavy lines. The fins are yellowish except for the dark dorsal fins. The yellowfin croaker differs from other California croakers in having a single fleshy projection, a barbel, on the lower jaw and two heavy spines at the front of the anal fin. |
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Yellowfin Tuna
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| The body of the yellowfin tuna tapers at both ends (cigar-shaped), and the head is conical. The color is dark brownish blue to dark yellow on the back becoming gray or whitish below. Identifying tunas can be difficult, especially when yellowfin and bigeye tuna are involved. In most cases, the length of the pectoral fins can distinguish each species. The yellowfin has pectoral fins which do not extend past the anal fin; while in bigeye, the pectoral fins extend well past the anal fin. Tuna which cannot be distinguished by external characteristics can be positively identified by liver characteristics. The surface of a yellowfin's liver is smooth while the liver of the bigeye is striated, containing many with small blood vessels along the trailing edge. |
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Yellowtail Rockfish
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| The body of the yellowtail rockfish is elongate and compressed. The head is rather long and the upper profile is steep and slightly curved. The lower jaw projects, but not beyond the upper profile of the head. The color is grayish brown above which shades to white below. The sides are finely spotted with yellow. The tail is yellow, while the other fins are dusky yellow. When the fish is fresh, reddish brown speckling is visible on some of the scales. As with many of the rockfish, identification can be somewhat difficult. Some of the distinguishing characteristics of the yellow tail rockfish include a convex (surface curves outward) space between the eyes, the absence of spines on top of the head, a projecting lower jaw, an anal fin with eight (rarely seven) soft rays and the lining of the belly is white. |
