California Corbina
Menticirrhus undulatus

Physical Description

• Elongate (long, skinny), cylindrical-shaped body.
• Shiny, incandescent, solid gray coloration, with wavy diagonal lines on sides and a whitish belly.
• One barbel (fleshy filament) projecting from chin.

Range

• Point Conception, California to Gulf of California, Mexico.

Habitat

• Bottom-dwelling fish.
• Found on sandy beaches, shallow bays, and the surf zone.
• Live at depths of 0-45 feet.

Reproduction

• Spawning occurs from May to September, especially mid-June to mid-August.
• Males mature at 2 years old and 10 inches long and females at 3 years old and 13 inches long.
• Eggs are free floating.

Diet

• 90% of diet is sand crabs.
• Will ingest mouthfuls of sand to get to sand crabs, and spit the sand out of their gills.
• Eat some clams and other crustaceans as well.

Predators

• Pacific angel shark, California halibut, bottlenose dolphin.

Interesting Facts

• Sometimes they feed in such shallow water in the surf zone that their backs are out of the water. 
• They use their chin barbels to search for sand crabs in the surf zone.

Sources: California Department of Fish and Wildlife; Ocean Protection Council; PierFishing.com

Photo: Herb Gruenhagen