Longfin Salema, Xenichthys xanti

Longfin Salema, Xenichthys xanti. Fish provided by the commercial bait salesmen of Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, January 2007. Length: 15.0 cm (5.9 inches). Fish identification courtesy of Dr. Ross Robertson, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama.

Longfin Salema, Xenichthys xanti. Underwater photograph taken in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, October 2019. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Longfin Salema, Xenichthys xanti, is a member of the Grunt or Haemulidae Family, that is also known as the Bigeye Salema and in Mexico as chula. Globally, there are three species in the genus Xenichthys, and only this species is found Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The Longfin Salema has a wide body profile that is 33% to 35% of standard length. They have an overall silvery appearance with 6 horizontal orange-brown stripes on the upper two-thirds of their bodies. They have large eyes, and an oblique mouth with a projecting lower jaw. Some individuals have a black spot at the base of their caudal fin (as pictured above), however, this spot vanishes with maturity. The spine base of their dorsal fin is shorter than the base of the rayous part, a key to identification. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 17 or 18 rays; the caudal fin is concave; their first dorsal fin has 11 spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 17 to 19 rays and the pectoral fins are short. The soft anal fin is a mirror image of the second dorsal fin. Their lateral line that crosses the body stripes.

The Longfin Salema is inshore demersal schooling species that is found over shallow sandy substrate at depths between 9 m (30 feet) and 107 m (350 feet). They can also be found in estuaries and mangroves on a limited basis. They reach a maximum length of 25 cm (10 inches) and less than 1.0 kg (2.2 lbs) in weight. The Longfin Salema are a relatively unknown species that is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Longfin Salema is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but have a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala; they are absent from the Sea of Cortez.

The Longfin Salema can be easily confused with the Salema, Brachygenys californiensis (spinous part of dorsal fin longer than base of rayous part; no black spot at tail base), the Wavyline Grunt, Microlepidotus inornatus (narrow orange stripes covering body), and the Yelloweye Croaker, Odontoscion xanthops (rounded tail).

From a conservation perspective the Longfin Salema is currently considered to be Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. Although they are small in stature they are considered to be an excellent food fish and retained by artisanal fishermen.