Spotted Cusk-eel
Chilara taylori
Physical Description
- Long, skinny, eel-like fish.
- Cream to brown in color with large dark spots all over.
- Rounded head and snout.
- Low dorsal (back) and tail fins. Pelvic (bottom) fins just two long, thin rays under eyes.
- Common length for adult about 12 inches; maximum length about 16 inches.
- Juveniles lack dark spots.
Range
- Found from Washington to Baja California, Mexico.
- Also found from Costa Rica to Ecuador and Galapagos Islands.
Habitat
- Live in mud, eelgrass, estuaries, mangroves, and rock rubble.
- Often burrow tail-first in sand, into mucus-lined holes.
- Found at depths of 0-920 feet.
Reproduction
- The female lays oval eggs that float in a single gelatinous mass.
- When the eggs hatch, they become planktonic larvae and planktonic juveniles for an extended time before settling as their adult stage on the seafloor.
Diet
- Shrimps, crabs, bony fishes, polychaete worms, small clams.
Predators
- California sea lions, cormorants, gulls, porpoises.
Interesting Facts
- They have smooth scales set at oblique (slanted) angles along their whole bodies, but no scales on their head.
- They are only active at night.
- Fossils show that this species was around in the Pliocene, 1.8 million years ago!
Sources: FishBase; DiscoverLife.org; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; CalCOFI; Mexican-Fish.com
Photo: Herb Gruenhagen