Alalahua, Priacanthus alalaua

Alalahua, Priacanthus alalaua. Fish caught from coastal waters off Kona, Hawaii, April 2015. Length:  28 cm (11 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Steve Wozniak, Alamo, California.

The Alalahua, Priacanthus alalaua, is a member of the Bigeye or Pricanthidae Family. They are also known as Forskal’s Bigeye and the Hawaiian Bigeye and in Mexico as catalufa alalahua. Globally, there are thirteen one species in the genus Pricanthus, of which two are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and this one in the Pacific Ocean.

The Alalahua has large eyes and a moderately elongated oval body that is strongly compressed. They are a uniform crimson in color which includes the fins and the iris of the eye. The pelvic fins have black membranes. The head profile is asymmetrical with the tip of the lower jaw being above the body midline. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 13 or 14 rays; their caudal fin has a crescent shaped margin; their first dorsal fin has 10 spines; their second dorsal fin has 12 to 14 rays; their pectoral fins have 17 to 19 rays, and their pelvic fins are relatively short. They have 19 to 23 gill rakers on the first arch. They lack the large flat spine at the angle of the preopercle found in other members of their family.

The Alalahua is a demersal species that is found over and within rocky bottoms at depths between 10 m (33 feet) and 275 m (900 feet). They reach a maximum of 32 cm (13 inches) in length. They are reported to be nocturnal feeders and found closer to the surface at night. The Alalahua 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 Alalahua  is easily confused with the Bulleye, Cookeolus japonicus (reddish yellow fins, long pelvic fins), Glasseye Snapper, Heteropricanthus cruentatus (spotted anal, caudal and dorsal fins), the and the Popeye Catalufa, Pristigenys serrula (oval, deep body, pelvic fins with black margins).

The Alalahua has a wide distribution however only a very small part of the population resides in the tropical eastern Pacific. In Mexican waters they are found in the Pacific Ocean but are very rare and limited to the Revillagigedos islands and Alijos Rocks west of southern Baja.

From a conservation perspective the Alalahua is currently considered to be of Least Concern with widely distributed populations.  They are of limited interest to most.