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Category Common
Name
Species Name Notes
1 Triggerfish Clown
Triggerfish
Ballistoides
conspicillum
Also known as the big spotted triggerfish. Inhabits outer reef areas and feeds upon crustaceans and mollusks by crushing them with powerful teeth. They are voracious eaters, and divers report seeing the clown triggerfish devour beds of pearl oysters. Do not eat this fish. According to an 1878 account, "the poisonous flesh acts primarily upon the nervous tissue of the stomach, occasioning violent spasms of that organ, and shortly afterwards all the muscles of the body.
2 Snapper Red Emperor Lutjanus sebae Called seaperch in Australia. Inhabits the areas around lagoon coral reefs and sandy bottoms. The red emperor is a valuable food fish and considered a great sporting fish that fights with fury when hooked. The flesh of an old fish is just as tender to eat as that of the very young.
3 Wrasse Giant Maori
Wrasse
Cheilinus
undulatus
This is the largest of all the wrasse. It is found in dense reef areas, feeding on a wide variety of mollusks, fishes, sea urchins, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. In spite of its immense size, divers find it a very wary fish.
4 Angelfish Blue Angelfish Pomacanthus
nauarchus
Habitat is around boulders, caves, coral ledges and crevices in shallow waters. Swims alone or in groups.
5 Cod Lunartail
Rockcod
Variola louti Also known as the coronation trout. It is found around coral reefs from shallow to very deep waters. Feeds primarily on small fishes.
6 Scorpionfish Firefish Pterois volitans Also known as the turkeyfish. Inhabits reef caves and crevices. The firefish is usually stationary during the day, but feeds actively at night. Favorite foods are crustaceans.
7 Butterflyfish Ornate
Butterflyfish
Chaetodon
Ornatissimus
Normally seen in pairs around dense coral areas from very shallow to moderate depths. The butterflyfish feeds mainly on coral polyps and anemones.
8 Shark Swell Shark Cephaloscyllium
ventriosum
Inhabits shallow reef caves and crevices and kelp beds along the coast and offshore islands. This shark feeds at night on fishes and crustaceans and is totally harmless to divers.
9 Ray Bat Ray Myliobatis
californica
Also know as the grinder ray because of its flat grinding teeth used to crush its meal of crustaceans or invertebrates. Inhabits bays, sloughs, and kelp beds with sandy bottoms.
10 Eel California Moray Gymnothorax
mordax
This fish hides in a shallow-water lair with just its head protruding during the day. At night it feeds on octopuses, crustaceans, and small fish close by.
11 Cod Lingcod Ophiodon
elongatus
Widely found from near the shore to very deep waters. Young fish stay on sand or mud bottoms of bays and inshore areas. The lingcod is a voracious predator, eating many different fishes and octopuses.
12 Sculpin Cabezon Scorpaenichthys
marmoratus
Often called the great marbled sculpin. Found over rocky or shell-encrusted bottoms from shallow to moderately deep waters. It feeds primarily on crustaceans and mollusks.
13 Spadefish Atlantic
Spadefish
Chaetodiperus
faber
Found in mid-water areas around reefs, wrecks and bridges. The tiny, all-black juveniles drift motionless in the shallows, looking like leaves and pods of mangrove.
14 Shark Nurse Shark Ginglymostoma
cirratum
Frequently found under rock or reef ledges. Carnivorous with well-developed organs for scent and vibration detection.
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