Sharpnose Seaperch, Phanerodon atripes
Sharpnose Seaperch, Phanerodon atripes. Fish caught from coastal waters off San Diego, California, October 2020. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.
Sharpnose Seaperch, Phanerodon atripes. Fish caught off the Monterey Municipal Wharf, Monterey, June 2022. Length: 22 cm (8.7 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
The Sharpnose Seaperch, Phanerodon atripes, is a member of the Surfperch or Embiotocidae Family, that is also known as the Blackfoot Seaperch and the Sharpnose Surfperch and in Mexico as mojarra picuda. There are two global species in the genus Phanerodon, both of which are found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The Sharpnose Seaperch has a highly compressed deep elongated fusiform body with a typical “perch-like” shape that is 33% to 37% of standard length. They are silvery in color with reddish-brown markings on the sides and dusky black-tipped pelvic fins (a key to identification). They have a small head, disproportionately large eyes, a sharp snout with small mouth that opens in the front. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 27 to 30 rays; their caudal fin is deeply forked; their dorsal fin is continuous with 10 or 11 spines and 22 to 24 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 20 to 22 rays.
The Sharpnose Seaperch is found demersally in deep water to depths up to 229 m (750 feet) and during the summer around kelp beds in shallow waters where they spawn. They are found in waters that are between 10.8oC (51oF) and 17.8o (64oF). They reach a maximum of 29 cm (11.4 inches) in length and 271 grams (0.6 lbs) in weight. They feed on benthic organisms including amphpods, chitons, copepods and isopods. Juveniles are found as solitary individuals that act as cleaners of larger fish include the Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola. In turn they are preyed upon by Shore Birds. The adults can be found in groups comprised of greater than fifteen individuals mixed in with Black Perch, Pile Perch and White Seaperch. Reproduction is viviparous with each female producing up to 7 embryos. Females carry the developing young until they mature. They have life spans of up to 7 years. The Sharpnose Seaperch 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 Sharpnose Seaperch is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found only from San Benito Island, Baja California, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.
The Sharpnose Seaperch is straightforward to identify due to its perch-like body and striking black-tipped pelvic fins but similar to the White Seaperch, Phanerodon furcatus (lacks black tipped pelvic fins).
From a conservation perspective the Sharpnose Seaperch has not been formally evaluated. They are seasonal difficult to catch by hook and line and seldom caught. As a food fish they are of limited interest to all but subsistence fishermen.