Pacific Bearded Brotula, Brotula clarkae
Pacific Bearded Brotula, Brotula clarkae, Juvenile. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of Bahía Kino, Sonora, January 2015. Length: 28 cm (11 inches). Photograph courtesy of Maria Johnson, Prescott College Kino Bay Center, Kino Bay, Sonora.
Pacific Bearded Brotula, Brotula clarkae. Fish caught from coastal waters off San Carlos, Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, May 2014. Length: 79 cm (31 inches). Catch and photographs courtesy of David Aller, Phoenix, Arizona.
Pacific Bearded Brotula, Brotula clarkae. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, June 2009. Length: 45 cm (18 inches).
The Pacific Bearded Brotula, Brotula clarkae, is a member of the Cusk Eel or Ophidiidae Family, and is known in Mexico as lengua rosada and locally as “lengua grouper,” (groupers command higher wholesale prices than eel’s!). Globally, there are five species in the genus Brotula, of which three are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Bearded Brotula has an elongated relatively deep compressed body that tapers toward the rear. The adults are a uniform reddish brown that becomes slightly lighter ventrally and slightly darker toward the caudal fin; juveniles have a dark stripe on the head behind the eye and numerous large dark brown spots on the body. The head has large eyes, a nostril that is halfway between the top lip and the rear nostril, large mouths and large gill openings. There are three short barbels on each side of the snout and 3 barbels on each side of the lower jaw. The anal and dorsal fin bases are long and continuous with the caudal fin with the dorsal fin being longer and originating before the anal fin. They have 27 or 28 pectoral rays. Each pelvic fin is a 2-rayed filament that is found under the throat. The body is covered with small smooth scales.
The Pacific Bearded Brotula inhabits rocky reefs and adjacent sand bottoms and is found at depths up to 640 m (2,100 feet). The adults are benthopelagic being able to suspend themselves above the bottom and the juveniles are common on reefs. They reach a maximum of 1.15 m (3 feet 9 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 5.67 kg (12 lbs 8 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Costa Rica in July 2021. They are rarely seen by humans because they hide in caves during the daytime and emerge to feed on crustaceans, small clams, polychaete worms, and other invertebrates at night. The Pacific Bearded Brotula 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 Pacific Bearded Brotula is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Bearded Brotula is the only Cusk Eel found in Mexican waters that is longer than 46 cm (18 inches) in length. They are most likely confused with the Fore-Spotted Cusk Eel, Brotula ordwayi (small black spots on the front of the body).
From a conservation perspective the Pacific Bearded Brotula has not been formally evaluated and is currently consider as Data Deficient. They are sold commercially on a very limited basis as “Lengua Grouper”. They are seldom seen and of limited interest to humans being obtained as a by-catch of deep water trawlers and by hook and line by commercial fishermen in the greater Los Cabos area.