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