Heterostichus rostratus
Giant Kelpfish
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Clinidae (Kelp Blennies)
Heterostichus
Heterostichus rostratus (Giant Kelpfish)
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.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated.
Distribution
Eastern Pacific: California, USA to southern Baja California, Mexico including Guadalupe Island.
Habitat Associations
Marine. demersal. depth range 0-40 m. Found in: seagrass beds.
Biology
Occurs in intertidal and to 40 m (Ref. 96339). Found among rocks with large seaweeds, often in kelp. Young occur in schools while adults are solitary. Feeds on small crustaceans, mollusks and small fishes. Female attaches eggs to seaweeds, male guards them.
Max length: 61.0 cm TL; max age: 4 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; guarders (nesters).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2010-05-04. Resilience: Medium (tm=1.25; tmax=4).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Matarese, A.C., A.W. Kendall, D.M. Blood and M.V. Vinter (1989) Laboratory guide to early life history stages of Northeast Pacific fishes. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 80:1-652.
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.
Comments On Heterostichus rostratus