Scuba Divers encounter massive School of Salema Fish off the coast of Los Angeles California. Malaga cove, Palos Verdes, Los Angeles county, California.
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Grunts: Family Haemulidae
Species: Xenistius californiensis (Steindachner, 1876); from xenitius (strange sail, in allusion to the dorsal fin) and californiensis (in reference to California as a geographic area).
Alternate Names: Bass, big eye, big eye bass, striped bass and lima perch. In Mexico called salema, pajarillo or ojotón.
Identification: This pretty little fish resembles a striped bass in shape and is even striped, but both color and range is different. Salema have a bass-like body, very large eyes, and 6-8 orange-brown horizontal stripes on the side. Their coloring is iridescent blue-green above, and silvery below; tail fins orange-brown. They will often also make a grunting noise when removed from the water. They are sometimes mistaken for small striped bass.
Size: Up to 11.8 inches but most caught from piers are only 6-8 inches long.
Range: Found from northern Peru, Gulf of California, and the Pacific coast where they are found from Baja California to Monterey Bay. Considered most common from Santa Monica south into the tropics. My records show them most commonly caught from piers between Oceanside and Santa Monica. They are uncommon north of Point Dume and rare north of Santa Barbara.
Habitat: Shallow-water rocky areas and in kelp beds (although recorded to a depth of 131 feet. Salema are usually found in schools and though primarily nocturnal feeders they also forage (and bite) during the day. The young often school with juvenile sargo and black croaker.
19 сен 2024
