California sheephead
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California sheephead | ||||||||||||||
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Semicossyphus pulcher (Ayres, 1854) |
The California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher) is a fish native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Its range is from Monterey Bay, California to the Gulf of California, Mexico.[2]
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[edit] Description
The sheephead can reach a size of 91 cm and a weight of 16 kg. The male is black with a white jaw and a broad red band spanning the body transversally. The female is pink. The juvenile form is bright red with a white stripe spanning the body. All sheepheads are born as females and eventually change to males. The age of the transition depends on environmental factors such as food supply.[3]
[edit] Biology
The sheephead inhabits kelp forests and rocky reefs, where it feeds on sea urchins, mollusks, lobsters, and crabs. Spawning occurs during the summer and results in pelagic larvae.
[edit] Fishery
Once abundant in California, overfishing has largely reduced the Sheephead population. Its timidity around divers has made the species especially vulnerable to spearfishing. Additionally, the Sheephead has a low resilience to population changes, due to its long doubling time of 4.5-14 years[2].
In Spanish, the fish is marketed under its common name "vieja" (old lady), or "vieja de California".
[edit] References
- Semicossyphus pulcher (TSN 170744). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 18 April 2006.
- ^ Cornish & Dormeier (2005). Semicossyphus pulcher. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a lengthy justification of why this species is vulnerable
- ^ a b "Semicossyphus pulcher". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- ^ California sheephead. Monterey Bay Aquarium: online field guide. Retrieved on 3 April 2006.