Cortez Chub, Kyphosus elegans

Cortez Chub, Juvenile, Kyphosus elegans, Juvenile. Fish collected with a bait net off the surface in coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, April 2014. Length: 2.5 cm 1.0 inch).

Cortez Chub, Kyphosus elegans, Juvenile. Fish collected with a bait net off the surface in coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, June 2017. Length: 3.8 cm (1.5 inches).  Catch and photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.  Discussions with H.J. Walker, Jr. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California indicate that this fish is most definitely from the Genus Kyphosus but he was unable to confirm the species without a thorough examination of the specimen.

Cortez Chub, Kyphosus elegans, Juvenile. Fish collected with a bait net off the surface in coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, June 2017. Length: 3.8 cm (1.5 inches).  Catch and photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California. Discussions with H.J. Walker, Jr. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, indicate that this fish is most definitely from the Genus Kyphosus but he was unwilling to confirm the species.

Cortez Chub, Kyphosus elegans. Fish caught off the beach at Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, December 2015. Length: 25.4 cm (10 inches).

Cortez Chub, Kyphosus elegans. Four color variations of an adult Cortez Chubs that were caught from shore off the beaches of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, from 2001 – 2007. Lengths: 35 cm (14 inches) to 40 cm (16 inches).

Cortez Chub, Kyphosus elegans. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, February 2022. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Cortez Chub, Kyphosus elegans. Underwater photograph taken in the greater Cabo San Lucas area, Baja California Sur, November 2017.

The Cortez Chub, Kyphosus elegans, is a member of the Sea Chub or Kyphosidae Family, and is known in Mexico as chopa de Cortés. Globally, there are eighteen species in the genus Kyphosus, of which six are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic, one in the Pacific and three in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

The Cortez Chub has an oval compressed body with a depth that is 48% to 52% of standard length. They are normally silvery gray with faint brown stripes along the sides between the scale rows. However they can also be uniform blue-gray and brown and have the ability to quickly display a pattern of numerous eye-sized white spots. Their fins are a uniform darker color. Juveniles are heavily spotted and have white caudal fins. They have a small head with a hump before the eyes, a short snout, and a very short horizontal mouth that opens at the front with small incisiform teeth set horizontally in the mouth with rounded tips and a curved hockey-stick shape. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 12 rays and is moderately high at the front; their caudal fin is slightly forked; their dorsal fin is continuous with 11 spines, folding down into a scaly groove, and 13 rays, which is relatively high; and, their pectoral and pelvic fins are relatively short. Their body is covered with rough small thick scales.

The Cortez Chub is a schooling fish that is found on rocky reefs from the surface to depths up to 40 m (130 feet). They reach a maximum of 53 cm (21 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 2.44 kg (5 lbs 6 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Alijos Rocks, Baja California in September 2008. They are omnivores feeding on benthic algae, plankton, and small invertebrates. The Cortez Chub 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 Cortez Chub is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean and is found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur southward along the southwest coast of Baja, throughout the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

The Cortez Chub is most likely confused with the Lowfin Chub, Kyphosus vaigiensis (more aerodynamic; body width 38 to 45% of standard length; more prominent stripes).

From a conservation perspective the Cortez Chub has not been formally evaluated. They are readily available to surf fishermen at certain times of the year but are considered marginal table fare and thus only retained by subsistence fishermen.