Specklefin Cusk-eel, Lepophidium negropinna

Specklefin Cusk-eel, Lepophidium negropinna. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, June 2009. Length: 42 cm (17 inches). Identification reconfirmed by Dr. Robert N. Lea, Monterey, California.

Specklefin Cusk-eel, Lepophidium negropinna. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, Mexico, June 2011. Length: 49 cm (19 inches). Note the significant change in body shape as the fish matures.

The Specklefin Cusk-eel, Lepophidium negropinna, is a member of the Cusk Eel or Ophidiidae Family, and is known in Mexico as congriperla pinta. Globally, there are twenty-three species in the genus Leopophidium, of which fourteen are found in Mexican waters, nine in the Atlantic and five in the Pacific Ocean.

The Specklefin Cusk-eel has an elongated compressed body that taper to a point at the rear. They are a uniform dark brown color that is lighter ventrally. The key to identification is their dorsal fin margin which is black with a light inner portion featuring many dark spots and streaks. Their anal and caudal fins are black; their pelvic fins are pale; and their pectoral fins are slightly darker than the body. Their head is long and low with a round cross-section. Their mouth is large and broad and their eyes are large. Their anal and dorsal fin bases are long and continuous with their pointed caudal fin; the dorsal fin is longer that and originates before the anal fin. Their pectoral fins are long and reach more than half-way to the anal fin. Their pelvic fins have a pair of small threads inserted under the eyes. They have a strong snout spine that reaches beyond the tip of their upper jaw. They are covered with small round scales.

The Specklefin Cusk-eel is a demersal species that is found with and over sandy and muddy bottoms at depths between 18 m (60 feet) and 390 m (1,280 feet). They reach a maximum of 52 cm (20 inches) in length. They hide in caves during the daytime and only emerge at night to feed on crustaceans, small clams, polychaete worms, and other invertebrates. The Specklefin Cusk-eel 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 Specklefin Cusk-eel is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean, however they have a limited distribution being found from Guerrero Negro, Baja California, southward along the central and southwest coasts of Baja and throughout the Sea of Cortez.

The Specklefin Cusk-eel are easy to identify due to their uniquely colored dorsal fin and cannot be confused with any other species.

From a conservation perspective the Specklefin Cusk-eel is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are obtained as a by-catch of deep water trawlers and by hook and line by commercial fishermen in the greater Los Cabos area of  Baja California Sur, but are too rare and too small to be of commercial interest. They are seldom seen by humans and are of limited interest to most.