California sheephead

California sheephead
Conservation status
Vulnerable [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Labridae Genus: Semicossyphus Species: S. pulcher
Binomial name
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]

Description

The sheephead can reach a size of up to 91 cm and a weight of 16 kg. The male is black, with a broad red band spanning the body transversally, and a white jaw. 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 sex to males. The age of the transition depends on environmental clues such as food supply.^[3]

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.

Fishery

The meat is good for eating, and hence the sheephead has been subjected to fishery. The sheephead used to be abundant in California, however overfishing has reduced the numbers. The sheephead usually allow divers to approach it, so especially spearfishing, targeting large males have had a large impact on the population. The sheephead is a slow breeder with a doubling time of more than 14 years,^[2] and is thus not very resilient to fishing.

References

• Semicossyphus pulcher (TSN 170744). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 18 April 2006.

1. ^ 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
2. ^ ^{a b} "Semicossyphus pulcher". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. February 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
3. ^ California sheephead. Monterey Bay Aquarium: online field guide. Retrieved on 3 April, 2006.

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