Scalyfin Basslet, Liopropoma longilepis
Scalyfin Basslet, Liopropoma longilepis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, October 2016. Length: 16.8 cm (6.6 inches). A first time documentation of the existence of this fish in the Sea of Cortez.
Scalyfin Basslet, Liopropoma longilepis. Fish caught out from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, April 2022. Length: 19 cm (7.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Scalyfin Basslet, Liopropoma longilepis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, April 2018. Length: 21 cm (8.3 inches).
Scalyfin Basslet, Liopropoma longilepis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, April 2016. Length: 25 cm (9.8 inches).
Scalyfin Basslet, Liopropoma longilepis. Fish caught out from coastal waters off El Tule, Baja California Sur, August 2013. Length: 26 cm (10.2 inches). Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.
The Scalyfin Basslet, Liopropoma longilepis, is a member of the Grouper or Epinephelidae Family, and is known in Mexico as cabrilla aleta escamosa. Globally, there are twenty-seven species in the genus Liopropoma, of which six are found in Mexican waters, four in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific Ocean.
The Scalyfin Basslet has an elongated compressed body and a pointed head. Their upper body is red and transitions to white ventrally. They have a prominent straight red lateral line. There is a distinctive dark red line running from the top of their mouth horizontally to the back of their eyes. Their anal, caudal, and dorsal fins are red with yellow margins. Their pectoral fins are red and their pelvic fins are transparent. They have a near horizontal profile with large eyes and a slightly upturned and very large mouth with a projecting lower jaw. Their caudal fin is strongly concave. They have an exceedingly deep tail base that is similar in size to the depth of the body. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 8 rays; their caudal fin is concave; their dorsal fin has 8 spines, a notch, and 12 rays; and, their pectoral fins have 15 spines. They are covered with small rough scales.
The Scalyfin Basslet is found in and around rocky and coral reefs at depths between 88 m (290 feet) and 229 m (750 feet). They reach a maximum of 26 cm (10 inches) in length and and less than 450 grams (1 lb) in weight. A fish bigger than 15 cm (5.9 inches) is exceedingly rare. The 229 m (290 feet) depth range and the maximum length for this species were established by a fish that I caught. The Scalyfin Basslet is exceedingly rare, round in deep water, and 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 Scalyfin Basslet is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found in the southern half of the Sea of Cortez and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala. I have caught this fish in both the greater Loreto and Magdalena Bay areas of Baja California Sur with the fish photographed above establishing new northern range extensions for the species to both the southwest coast of Baja and to the south-central portion of the Sea of Cortez.
The Scalyfin Basslet is straightforward to identify due to its unique coloration pattern. In body shape it is similar to the Rainbow Basslet, Liopropoma fasciatum, the latter having being a deep reddish maroon color with significant yellow horizontal body striping.
From a conservation perspective the Scaylfin Basslet is currently considered to be Data Deficient. They are a very rare catch by hook and line and too small to be of interest to most.