Mexican Hogfish, Bodianus diplotaenia

Mexican Hogfish, Bodianus diplotaenia, Juvenile. Underwater photograph taken in Zihuantanejo, Guerrero, March 2014. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo. Identification courtesy of Dr. Benjamin Victor, coralreeffish.com.

Mexican Hogfish, Initial Phase (IP), Female, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, February 2018. Length: 19 cm (8.7 inches).

Mexican Hogfish, Initial Phase (IP), Female, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught off from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, August 2004. Length: 25 cm (10 inches).

Mexican Hogfish, Initial Phase (IP), Female, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, February 2023. Length: 25 cm (10 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Peoria, Illinois.

Mexican Hogfish, Initial Phase (IP), Female, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught from shore off Roca de Ian, Bahia de Los Muertos, Baja California Sur, December 2021. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Mexican Hogfish, Initial Phase (IP), Female, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught from coastal waters north of La Playita, Baja California Sur, March 2021. Length: ca. 46 cm (18 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of James Rosenwald, Saint Croix, Minnesota. This fish is exceedingly large for a female.

Mexican Hogfish, Initial Phase (IP), Female, Bodianus diplotaenia. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Mexican Hogfish, Terminal Phase (TP), Male, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, February 2018. Length: 36 cm (14 inches).

Mexican Hogfish, Terminal Phase (TP), Male, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught from the beach Agua Verde, Baja California Sur, March 2019. Photograph courtesy of Barry Mastro, Escondido, California.

Mexican Hogfish, Terminal Phase (TP), Male, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught in coastal waters of Loreto, Baja California Sur, September 2015. Length: 39 cm (15 inches). Photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.

Mexican Hogfish, Terminal Phase (TP), Male, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught off from shore at Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, August 2004. Length: 44 cm (17 inches).

Mexican Hogfish, Terminal phase (TP), Male, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught in coastal waters of Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California, June 2016. Length: 54 cm (21 inches). Photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.

Mexican Hogfish, Terminal phase (TP), Male, Bodianus diplotaenia. Fish caught within Gonzaga Bay, Baja California, April 2023. Length: 54 cm (21 inches). Photograph courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.

Mexican Hogfish, Terminal phase (TP), Male, Bodianus diplotaenia. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Mexican Hogfish, Bodianus diplotaenia, is a member of the Wrasse or Labridae Family, and is known in Mexico as vieja mexicana. Globally, there are thirty-eight species in the genus Bodianus, three of which are found in Mexican waters, two in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.

The Mexican Hogfish have robust compressed bodies with a depth that is 30% to 38% of standard length; more mature fish have wider bodies. Females and males of the Initial Phase (IP) and juveniles are initially yellow, then transition to reddish and have a pair of broken black stripes along the upper portions of their flanks. Terminal Phase (TP) males are either uniformly bluish-green or red except for their white chin. They have a pronounced hump on their forehead and long anal, caudal, and dorsal lobes. Their head has a pointed snout with a canine tooth at the top of the rear jaw and 2 pairs of large canines on the front jaw. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 12 rays; and, their dorsal fin has 12 spines and 10 rays.

The Mexican Hogfish are coastal residents found in the surge zone at depths of up to 76 m (250 feet) in and around heavy rock structures. They reach a maximum of 76 cm (2 feet 6 inches) in length. They are a solitary non-schooling species and feed diurnally consuming crustaceans, polychaete worms, and mollusks. In turn they are preyed upon by larger bony fish and sharks. Juveniles secrete a fowl-tasting cocoon at night which envelops the fish for protection while sleeping. They are protogynous hermaphrodites with females being able to transform into fully functional males at mid-life. Harems consist of one male and several females with fertilization occurring externally and pelagic eggs developing rapidly. The Mexican Hogfish 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 Mexican Hogfish are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from Cedros Island, Baja California, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.

The Mexican Hogfish is an easy species to identify due to its extensive markings and finnage, once it is understood that it comes in a variety of sex-specific colors ranging from bright red to deep purple-black (see photos). Mature males with the pronounced forehead hump can be confused with the California Sheephead, Semicossyphus pulcher and the Bumphead Parrotfish, Scarus perrico, however, both are colored differently and lack the elongated anal, caudal, and dorsal fins.

From a conservation perspective the Mexican Hogfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are viewed by locals as poor table fare and normally a “catch and release” to all but subsistence fishermen. This species is accessible from the beach by bottom fishing with cut bait, but be prepared for a battle, especially around structures. They are sold on a limited basis by the major markets in the greater Los Cabos area.