San Carlos fish

Reef fish

Reef fish

48 species · grouped by family

The Gulf of California has 891 recorded fish species, 90 of them found nowhere else (IUCN World Heritage Outlook). Volunteer divers with REEF have logged 200 fish species in 531 surveys at San Carlos and 184 species in 471 surveys at Isla San Pedro Nolasco (REEF; REEF).

The table lists reef fish recorded at San Carlos or San Pedro Nolasco, grouped by family in the style of REEF fish survey sheets, then sorted by common name. The “Look for” notes come from each fish’s page in the Smithsonian’s Shorefishes of the Tropical Eastern Pacific (SFTEP) and FishBase, linked in the row (Smithsonian SFTEP). Under each note, “REEF surveys” gives the share of REEF surveys at San Carlos and at Nolasco that recorded the fish, where it appears in the part of REEF’s tables that could be read.

Table 1 — Reef fish of San Carlos and Isla San Pedro Nolasco, grouped by family in the style of REEF survey sheets (Other last), then sorted by common name. Each fish’s family is shown under its scientific name. Most photos were taken at other eastern Pacific sites (see the credits); fish marked “No photo yet” link to photos on Wikimedia Commons.

Photo	Common name	Species	Look for	Profile
Angelfish Pomacanthidae · 2 species
No photo yet	Cortez angelfish	Pomacanthus zonipectusPomacanthidae	Grey with yellow, cream and black bars and a yellow tail; juveniles black with curved yellow and blue bars. REEF surveys: San Carlos 61% · Nolasco 37%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
	King angelfish	Holacanthus passerPomacanthidae	Dark blue-grey with one white bar behind the pectoral fin and a yellow tail; juveniles orange and black with blue and white bars. REEF surveys: San Carlos 83% · Nolasco 98%	FishBase · SFTEP
Butterflyfish Chaetodontidae · 2 species
	Barberfish	Johnrandallia nigrirostrisChaetodontidae	Yellow, with a dark stain on the snout and a black border around the eye. REEF surveys: San Carlos 38% · Nolasco 89%	FishBase · SFTEP
No photo yet	Threebanded butterflyfish	Chaetodon humeralisChaetodontidae	Creamy yellow with five or six dark vertical bars on the head, body and tail. REEF surveys: San Carlos 72% · Nolasco 60%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
Damselfish Pomacentridae · 4 species
No photo yet	Cortez damselfish	Stegastes rectifraenumPomacentridae	Brown with dark scale edges and scattered pale scales; juveniles blue with an eyespot on the dorsal fin. REEF surveys: San Carlos 84% · Nolasco 93%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
	Giant damselfish	Microspathodon dorsalisPomacentridae	Large and dark, with pointed tips on the dorsal, anal and tail fins and no hump on the forehead; juveniles blue with iridescent spots. REEF surveys: Nolasco 58%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Panamic sergeant major	Abudefduf troscheliiPomacentridae	Silvery, with a yellow back, five black bars and a black spot at the base of the pectoral fin. The fish most often recorded on REEF surveys at San Carlos. REEF surveys: San Carlos 91% · Nolasco 96%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Scissortail chromis	Azurina atrilobataPomacentridae	Brown, with a black spot at the base of the pectoral fin, a white spot under the end of the dorsal fin and sharp, dark-edged tail lobes. REEF surveys: San Carlos 58% · Nolasco 96%	FishBase · SFTEP
Eels Muraenidae · 2 species
	Jewel moray	Muraena lentiginosaMuraenidae	Brown with dark-edged cream spots; both nostrils tubular. REEF surveys: Nolasco 40%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Panamic green moray	Gymnothorax castaneusMuraenidae	A plain green-brown moray with a few white dots on the dorsal fin. REEF surveys: San Carlos 46% · Nolasco 70%	FishBase · SFTEP
Groupers, seabasses and soapfish Epinephelidae, Grammistidae, Serranidae · 8 species
	Barred serrano	Serranus psittacinusSerranidae	About eight dark bars or a dark stripe along the body, and a row of large spots on the belly. REEF surveys: San Carlos 48% · Nolasco 81%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Cortez soapfish	Rypticus bicolorGrammistidae	Dark and mottled with poorly defined cream blotches, three dorsal spines and a jutting lower jaw.	FishBase · SFTEP
	Flag cabrilla	Epinephelus labriformisEpinephelidae	Olive-green to reddish brown with scattered white spots, white tips on the dorsal spines and a small black saddle on the tail base. REEF surveys: San Carlos 36% · Nolasco 73%	FishBase · SFTEP
No photo yet	Gulf grouper	Mycteroperca jordaniEpinephelidae	Adults plain dark brown or grey; large adults have white edges on the pectoral and other fins. Endangered on the IUCN Red List.	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
	Leather bass	Dermatolepis dermatolepisEpinephelidae	Deep, very flat body with oblique bars, pale blotches and yellow fin edges; juveniles black with white bars.	FishBase · SFTEP
No photo yet	Leopard grouper	Mycteroperca rosaceaEpinephelidae	Greenish to greyish brown with small reddish-brown spots and white fin edges; a rare all yellow-orange form also occurs. REEF surveys: San Carlos 61% · Nolasco 74%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
	Pacific creolefish	Cephalopholis colonusEpinephelidae	Streamlined, green-brown with five white spots along the back, reddish fins and a deeply forked tail. REEF surveys: Nolasco 71%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Panama graysby	Cephalopholis panamensisEpinephelidae	Grey-brown with about nine dark bars, a dark head with pale diagonal bands and blue and orange spots, and a dark blotch behind the eye (Wikipedia). REEF surveys: San Carlos 71% · Nolasco 87%	FishBase
Grunts Haemulidae · 1 species
No photo yet	Graybar grunt	Haemulon sexfasciatumHaemulidae	About six thick dark bars. REEF surveys: San Carlos 76% · Nolasco 75%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
Hawkfish Cirrhitidae · 3 species
	Coral hawkfish	Cirrhitichthys oxycephalusCirrhitidae	Pointed head; pinkish white with brown-red blotches. SFTEP notes the eastern Pacific fish are probably a separate species. REEF surveys: Nolasco 67%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Giant hawkfish	Cirrhitus rivulatusCirrhitidae	Olive-green to red with four dark oblique bars edged in cobalt blue. REEF surveys: San Carlos 32% · Nolasco 63%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Longnose hawkfish	Oxycirrhites typusCirrhitidae	A very long, thin snout; white with red stripes and bars.	FishBase · SFTEP
Jacks Carangidae · 1 species
	Bigeye trevally	Caranx sexfasciatusCarangidae	Silvery, with a large eye, a black spot at the top corner of the gill cover and a white-tipped dark dorsal lobe.	FishBase · SFTEP
Parrotfish Labridae (Scarinae) · 2 species
No photo yet	Bluechin parrotfish	Scarus ghobbanLabridae (Scarinae)	Initial phase tan with five pale bars; terminal males green-blue above and pink below. REEF surveys: San Carlos 52% · Nolasco 40%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
No photo yet	Bumphead parrotfish	Scarus perricoLabridae (Scarinae)	A humped head, green-brown body and blue fins and beak.	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
Puffers and porcupinefish Diodontidae, Tetraodontidae · 5 species
	Balloonfish	Diodon holocanthusDiodontidae	Long spines, dark blotches on the back and a brown bar above and below each eye; fins unspotted. REEF surveys: San Carlos 72% · Nolasco 88%	FishBase · SFTEP
No photo yet	Bullseye puffer	Sphoeroides annulatusTetraodontidae	Two pale ovals on the back, a wide space between the eyes and a very wavy lateral line.	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
	Guineafowl puffer	Arothron meleagrisTetraodontidae	Black with dense white spots, or all yellow. FishBase gives its range as Guaymas to Ecuador.	FishBase · SFTEP
	Spotted porcupinefish	Diodon hystrixDiodontidae	Greyish tan with small black spots all over, fins included, and no large blotches.	FishBase · SFTEP
	Spotted sharpnose puffer	Canthigaster punctatissimaTetraodontidae	Small, with head, body and tail densely covered in blue-white spots. REEF surveys: Nolasco 48%	FishBase · SFTEP
Snappers Lutjanidae · 3 species
	Barred pargo	Hoplopagrus guentheriiLutjanidae	A deep body with about six double dark bars and a long tubular front nostril.	FishBase · SFTEP
	Pacific dog snapper	Lutjanus novemfasciatusLutjanidae	Dark olive-brown to copper-red; young have nine dark crossbars.	FishBase · SFTEP
	Yellow snapper	Lutjanus argentiventrisLutjanidae	Rosy red at the front shading to orange-yellow behind, with a blue streak below the eye. REEF surveys: San Carlos 65% · Nolasco 78%	FishBase · SFTEP
Surgeonfish Acanthuridae · 1 species
No photo yet	Yellowtail surgeonfish	Prionurus punctatusAcanthuridae	Grey with a bright yellow tail, three bony knobs on the tail base and dark spots on the rear of the body. SFTEP now treats it as part of P. laticlavius; FishBase keeps it separate. REEF surveys: Nolasco 45%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
Triggerfish Balistidae · 2 species
	Finescale triggerfish	Balistes polylepisBalistidae	Plain olive to blue-grey, with a fully scaled snout and a patch of large bony scales behind the gill opening. REEF surveys: San Carlos 63% · Nolasco 80%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Orangeside triggerfish	Sufflamen verresBalistidae	Brown above and orange below, with a yellow bar under and behind the mouth. REEF surveys: Nolasco 26%	FishBase · SFTEP
Wrasse and hogfish Labridae · 4 species
	Chameleon wrasse	Halichoeres dispilusLabridae	Pinkish grey with blue stripes on the head, blue spots on the body and a black blotch on the shoulder. REEF surveys: San Carlos 69% · Nolasco 77%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Cortez rainbow wrasse	Thalassoma lucasanumLabridae	Initial phase with yellow and red stripes along the side; terminal males with a blue head and a red body with a yellow bar. REEF surveys: San Carlos 63% · Nolasco 86%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Mexican hogfish	Bodianus diplotaeniaLabridae	Terminal males greenish with a yellow bar and a reddish head; females red-grey with brown stripes; juveniles yellow. REEF surveys: San Carlos 85% · Nolasco 92%	FishBase · SFTEP
No photo yet	Spinster wrasse	Halichoeres nicholsiLabridae	Terminal males blue-grey with a dark bar and a yellow cheek; juveniles white with a large eyespot on the dorsal fin. REEF surveys: San Carlos 66% · Nolasco 84%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
Other Apogonidae, Blenniidae, Fistulariidae, Holocentridae, Kyphosidae, Mullidae, Scorpaenidae · 8 species
No photo yet	Barspot cardinalfish	Apogon retrosellaApogonidae	A black stripe through the eye, a black bar under the second dorsal fin and a black spot on the tail base. REEF surveys: San Carlos 30% · Nolasco 39%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
No photo yet	Gulf opaleye Gulf endemic	Girella simplicidensKyphosidae	A blue eye and three or four faint pale spots under the dorsal fin. Found only in the Gulf of California. REEF surveys: Nolasco 38%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)
	Mexican goatfish	Mulloidichthys dentatusMullidae	A bright yellow stripe along the side with a thin bluish stripe above it, and a yellow tail. REEF surveys: Nolasco 21%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Panamic fanged blenny	Ophioblennius steindachneriBlenniidae	A long, rounded body with cirri over the eyes and on the nape, and a blackish spot behind the eye. REEF surveys: Nolasco 41%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Panamic soldierfish	Myripristis leiognathusHolocentridae	Red body and fins and big eyes; two and a half scale rows above the lateral line. REEF surveys: Nolasco 38%	FishBase · SFTEP
	Reef cornetfish	Fistularia commersoniiFistulariidae	Very long and thin, with a whip-like filament on the tail and two blue stripes or rows of blue spots on the back.	FishBase · SFTEP
	Sabertooth blenny	Plagiotremus azaleusBlenniidae	Very slender, with an overhanging conical snout and yellow and white stripes on a brown body.	FishBase · SFTEP
No photo yet	Stone scorpionfish	Scorpaena mystesScorpaenidae	Deep pits in front of and behind the eye; the inside of the pectoral fin has a black blotch with rows of white spots. REEF surveys: San Carlos 48% · Nolasco 69%	FishBase · SFTEP · Photos (Commons)

Pressure

A heavily fished sea

Why some big fish are scarce

More than 85% of the Gulf’s fisheries are fished at or beyond their maximum sustainable yield, and IUCN rates overfishing and bycatch as very high threats to the Gulf’s World Heritage islands (IUCN World Heritage Outlook). The Gulf grouper is Endangered on the IUCN Red List (see its FishBase page, linked in the table).

Credits

Fish photo credits

Photos and where they were taken

Photos credited to Megan Applegate are © Megan Applegate, all rights reserved. The jewel moray was taken at San Carlos in July 2024; her other photos show the same species at Malpelo or Cocos Island. The others are reference photos with open licences, credited below.