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A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity

Amphistichus koelzi

Calico Surfperch
NS GNR
Collection Details

Specimens

Photos

There are no photos available for this taxon yet.

Records

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri) Embiotocidae (Surfperches) Amphistichus Amphistichus koelzi (Calico Surfperch)

Description

This species account was compiled from FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.) and processed using AI-assisted text extraction. It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting. When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page. Learn more about our species accounts.

Characters

Body shape: short and / or deep. Generally silvery overlaid with brassy tones; back bluish or olivaceous; lower head and lower anterior part of body tinged with red; sides with series of brown speckles which form rough narrow vertical bars; pectorals plain, other fins usually reddish (Ref. 6885).

Distribution

Eastern Pacific: near Cape Flaterry in Washington, USA to northern Baja California, Mexico. Recorded 32 km from the Canadian border (Ref. 6885).

Habitat Associations

Marine. demersal. depth range 0-9 m.

Biology

Adults occur usually in sand beaches in surf (Ref. 2850). Viviparous, female carries the developing young (Ref. 205).
Max length: 31.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: internal (oviduct); bearers (internal live bearers); parental care: maternal. Viviparous, female carries the developing young (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2009-02-04. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tm<5).

Commercial or Environmental Importance

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.

References

Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p.
Hart, J.L. (1973) Pacific fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 180:740 p.

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