Category: Fish

Green Sturgeon

Sturgeons: Family Acipenseridae Species: Acipenser medirostris (Ayres, 1854); from the Latin words Acipenser (bony cartilage), medi (moderate), and rostris (snout). Alternate Names: Golden sturgeon. Called esturión verde in Mexico. Identification: Green sturgeon have streamlined, shark-like bodies with a pointed head that is longer than white…

Shortfin Mako Shark

Species: Isurus oxyrinchus (Rafinesque, 1810); from the Greek word isurus (equal and tail) and the Greek word oxyinchus (sharp snout). Alternate Names: Mako is the work used by the Maori in New Zealand to describe sharks, but this is another shark with many names. In…

Onespot Fringehead

Kelpfishes and Fringeheads: Family Clinidae Alternate Names: Fringehead or onespot. Called tubícola mancha singular or blenia in Mexico. Identification: Typical slender blenny-shape, but with a large head and a very large mouth. Their long dorsal fin extends from the rear of the head almost to…

White Croaker

Croakers: Family Sciaenidae Species: Genyonemus lineatus (Ayres, 1855); from the Greek words genys (lower jaw) and nema (barbel) and the Latin word lineatus (striped). Alternate Names: Tomcod (southern California), roncador (Ventura and Santa Barbara area), kingfish (central and northern California), sewer trout, tommy croaker, tommy and…

Striped Bass

Striped Bass from the Fort Point Pier Temperate Sea Basses: Family Percichthyidae Species: Morone saxatilis (Walbaum, 1792); from Morone (a word of unknown origin attributed to Samuel Latham Mitchell who named it in 1814) and the Latin saxatilis (to live among rocks). CA Fish Bulletin…

California Scorpionfish

Scorpionfishes and Rockfishes: Family Scorpaenidae Species: Scorpaena guttata (Girard, 1854); from the Greek word scorpaena (scorpion, referring to the poison spines), and the Latin word guttata (a form of small drops or spotting). Alternate Names: Commonly called sculpin although also called scorpionfish, scorpion, little poker,…

Opaleye

Sea Chubs: Family Kyphosidae Species: Girella nigricans (Ayres, 1860); from the French word girelle (a derivative of julis, an old word used to denote a number of small wrasse in Europe), the Latin word nigr (dark) and the Greek word ikanos (becoming, in reference to…

Pacific Chub Mackerel

Mackerels and Tunas: Family Scombridae Species: Scomber japonicus (Houttuyn, 1782); from the Greek word scombros (an ancient name for the common mackerel of Europe) and japoniocus (of Japan). The scientific name was given as Pneumatophorus japonicus diego in the Commercial Fisheries Fish Bulletin #28 (Lionel…

Leopard Shark

 Smoothhounds: Family Triakididae Species: Triakis semifasciata from the Greek word tria (meaning the number three, like a triad) and Latin cis (meaning on the side), and the Latin fasciata (bundled) referring to the stripes. Alternate Names: Cat shark or (mistakenly) tiger shark. Called tiburón leopardo…

King Salmon

Trouts and Salmon: Family Salmonidae Species: Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792); from the Greek roots onkos (hook), rynchos (nose), and tshawytscha (the vernacular name for the species in Alaska and Kamchatka, USSR). Alternate Names: Chinook salmon, black mouth, spring salmon, tyee (large specimens over 30 pounds),…