Species: Paralabrax auroguttatus, Gold-spotted sand-bass, Goldspotted sand-bass


Paralabrax auroguttatus Walford, 1936
Gold-spotted sand-bass, Goldspotted sand-bass
Body elongate, compressed; head pointed; mouth large; rear of top jaw exposed when mouth closed, without accessory bone above it; teeth fixed; roof of mouth with teeth on sides and center; total gill rakers 13-14; preopercle finely serrated; dorsal X, 13-14, third spine greatly elevated, over three times longer than second, end of fin pointed; anal rays III, 7; pectoral 16; pelvics inserted under or slightly behind pectoral base; tail rounded to concave, 13-15 branched rays; scales small, rough; lateral line scales 73; rear of top jawbone without scales.
Overall brownish becoming white ventrally; head and sides covered with numerous golden orange to brownish spots; back with 2-3 thin pale stripes; lining of gill cavity orange; juveniles white with three dark brown stripes and a lighter brown stripe or longitudinal row of spots between each dark stripe, the stripes break up into spots with increased growth.
Size: to at least 71 cm.
Inhabits rocky bottoms.
Depth: 2-183 m.
Central Baja to the Gulf of California to central Mexico.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef only
- Rocks
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- No Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- No data
- Global Endemism
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- TEP non-endemic
- East Pacific endemic
- All species
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Temperate Eastern Pacific, primarily
- Continent only
- All species
- California province, primarily
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Data deficient
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Depth Range Min
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- 2
- Depth Range Max
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- 183
- Length Max
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- 71