Hexagrammos lagocephalus
Encyclopedia
Hexagrammos lagocephalus is a colorful marine fish with the common name Rock Greenling in the Greenling family. It is sometimes known as Fringed Greenling and erroneously as the red rock trout.
mouths, while the young have bright red eyes.
s. It is sometimes cryptic
however and often elusive to divers
and spear fishermen as they prefer living among the rock in the heavy surge.
s such as crab
s and isopods to fish eggs and algae
. When young the fish eats zooplankton
.
from Alaska
's Bering Sea
to the coast of south California
. Its habitat of choice is rocky shoreline. Sometimes however they can be found in tidepools, and sometimes sandy areas.
, although a popular gamefish. Most live among areas impossible to fish by commercial boats. It is commonly caught by sport fishers off exposed rocky shores.
Appearance
The fish is maroon, with blue spot that fade to bright red. The color pattern helps it blend in with its natural environment. It grows to up to 24 inches (60 cm). Most adult have blueBlue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
mouths, while the young have bright red eyes.
Behavior
The species is usually solitary, but not aggressive, which has led to easy husbandry in public aquariumAquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
s. It is sometimes cryptic
Crypsis
In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation or detection by other organisms. It may be either a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation, and methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle, transparency, and mimicry...
however and often elusive to divers
Underwater diving
Underwater diving is the practice of going underwater, either with breathing apparatus or by breath-holding .Recreational diving is a popular activity...
and spear fishermen as they prefer living among the rock in the heavy surge.
Diet
Hexagrammos lagocephalus is a generalized feeder, eating everything from invertebrateInvertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s such as crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s and isopods to fish eggs and algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
. When young the fish eats zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
.
Range
The Rock Greenling's natural distribution is along the Pacific CoastPacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
's Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
to the coast of south California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Its habitat of choice is rocky shoreline. Sometimes however they can be found in tidepools, and sometimes sandy areas.
Economic value
Not commonly commercially fished like the related lingcodLingcod
The lingcod, Ophiodon elongatus, is a fish of the greenling family Hexagrammidae. It is the only extant member of the genus Ophiodon...
, although a popular gamefish. Most live among areas impossible to fish by commercial boats. It is commonly caught by sport fishers off exposed rocky shores.