Male California Sheephead
Semicossyphus pulcher

Physical Description

• Adult males are black with red-pink midsection
• They have red eyes and prominent square, “sheep-like” heads
• Can grow to be 3 feet long and weigh 35 pounds
• Have protruding teeth, used to prey on hard-shelled organisms
• Adult males look very different than adult females (#70)
• Juveniles are bright reddish-orange with large black spots on fins and a white stripe down their side

Range

• Point Conception, California to Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico
• Gulf of California, Mexico

Habitat

• Rocky reefs
• Kelp forests
• From 10 to 100 feet depths

Reproduction

• Mating season is June to September
• During mating season the male becomes territorial of its spawning territory
• Dominant male leads female in circular pattern as they broadcast sperm and eggs into the water
• If a smaller male approaches, the larger male will chase him away
• The female can spawn up to 375,000 eggs in one day

Diet

• Eats sea urchins, bivalves (two-shelled animals), barnacles, and bryozoans

Predators

• Often eaten by harbor seals and sea lions

Interesting Facts

• California sheepshead are all born female but often become male later in life!
• They can live to be 53 years old, which is very long for a fish.
• At night, they hide in crevices and wrap themselves in a mucus cocoon to hide their scent from predators.
• Sheepshead often get a parasitic flatworm, but the mutualistic senorita fish clean it off of their skin and gills.

Sources: California Sea Grant; Monterey Bay Aquarium