Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system

Español  Contact

Species: Paralabrax nebulifer, Barred sand-bass

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

body: dark blotches & faint dark bars
dark oblique bar: eye to operculum
D: 3rd spine > twice 2nd

Paralabrax nebulifer (Girard, 1854)

Barred sand-bass

Body elongate, compressed, relatively slender (~ 29% of SL), compressed, back moderately elevated; head pointed, forehead profile gently curved; lower body profile relatively straight; lower jaw projects to join snout profile; mouth extends to under middle of pupil; rear of top jaw exposed when mouth closed, without accessory bone above it; teeth fixed;  roof of mouth with teeth on sides and center; lower gill rakers 16-18; preopercle finely serrated; dorsal X, 13-15, 3rd  spine largest, distinctly longer than 4th  & 2.5x length of 2nd  spine, rear margin of soft fin pointed; anal rays III, 7;  pectoral rounded, 17-18; pelvics inserted under or slightly behind pectoral base; tail straight to slightly concave;  scales small, rough; lateral line scales 66-73; rear of top jawbone without scales; space between eys and snout before nostrils scaled.

Head and body grey to pale greenish brown; upper 2/3 body and tail base with dark blotches and indistinct to dark bars that extend onto dorsal fin, often an oval black blotch under spiny dorsal; often golden-brown spots on cheek and operculum, especially in juveniles;  a dark oblique bar between eye and lower corner of operculum;  dorsal fin with white base, outer 2/3 of spiny dorsal blackish, edge of soft dorsal yellowish; juvenile without bars on body, with blotches and an indistinct dark stripe along mid-side.

Size: 66 cm, 5 kg, 24 years.

Habitat: sand bottoms close to rocks.

Depth: 0-185 m.

California to the tip of Baja.


High Resolution Map Download

Species Data Create Report Export as Word File Export as Excel File
Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore Only
  • Inshore
Water Column Position
  • Bottom only
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Reef and soft bottom
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Sand & gravel
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Rocks
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
FishBase Habitat
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Data
  • Carnivore
Diet
  • Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Data
  • Bony fishes
  • Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
Egg Type
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
  • No data
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • TEP non-endemic
  • East Pacific endemic
Regional Endemism
  • All species
  • Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
  • Continent only
  • California province, primarily
  • Continent
  • Temperate Eastern Pacific, primarily
Residency
  • Vagrant
Climate Zone
  • Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
  • North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
  • Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 65
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 185