California sheephead

Bodianus is New Latin. Pulcher is the Latin word for beautiful. In French, the fish is called the labre Californien (Literally: Californian wrasse), and in Spanish it is called the vieja de California (Literally: Old woman of California). == Taxonomy ==

The species is most closely related to the Asian and goldspot sheephead wrasse. The three species were previously considered to form their own genus Semicossyphus, but are now lumped into Bodianus, after molecular phylogenetics showed that Semicossyphus was nested deep within Bodianus. == Description ==

Male and female California sheepheads have different color patterns and body shapes. Female sheephead are silvery or dull pink with white undersides. Both sexes have white chins and large, protruding canine teeth that can pry hard-shelled animals from rocks or inflict nasty puncture wounds on skin divers. After powerful jaws and sharp teeth crush the prey, modified throat bones (a throat plate) grind the shells into small pieces. California sheephead can reach a size of and a weight of . All sheepheads are born as females and eventually change to males at roughly . The age of the transition depends on environmental factors such as food supply. The species can live for over 50 years. == Biology ==

The California sheephead lives in kelp forests and rocky reefs, where it feeds on sea urchins, molluscs, lobsters, and crabs. Fertilized eggs are released into the water column and hatch, resulting in planktonic larva. ==Distribution and habitat==

Home ranges in California sheephead vary greatly, and this variability can be attributed to differences in habitat shape (embayment versus contiguous coastline) and to natural habitat boundaries (deep, sandy expanses). It is found in rocky-reef areas 54% of the time, and within those areas, a greater percentage of daytime is found in high relief areas. Although their home ranges are thought of as particularly well defined, the size and fidelity may vary ontogenetically and seasonally and with habitat availability. Sheephead home ranges are relatively small, and the fish have a very high site attachment. They may select rocky areas with kelp most often due to the increased habitat complexity, which likely offers additional feeding opportunities and potential refuge from large predators. Sheephead generally are considered mainly a rocky-reef and kelp-bed associated species, but they occasionally frequent sand habitats in foraging forays. ==Ecology==

The California sheephead is a monandric protogynous hermaphrodite and is a commercially and recreationally valuable labrid. It is a prominent species occupying the southern California rocky reef and kelp bed fish assemblage. Both the ecology and life history patterns of California sheephead have been shown to vary with local environmental conditions. Feeding The California sheephead is a carnivorous, epibenthic reef fish, foraging mostly in the daytime in sand-rock reef habitats. As a large temperate wrasse, it is a predator of sea urchins and other benthic invertebrates and play a critical role in also regulating prey populations in kelp forests. Since it feeds heavily on urchins, it is consequently an important species for indirectly regulating kelp growth in southern California's coastal waters. They forage both in groups and alone, and larger fish tend to shift towards more heavily armored prey. These clues are only released when the skin is ruptured, and act as a reliable indicator of the presence of an actively foraging predator. Fish in cooler waters may require less energy for growth and may be able to convert more energy into reproduction than fish at warmer sites. There is a period of reproductive inactivity during gonadal remodeling, and the sex change in this species is unidirectional. In later stages of the transition, fish possibly are functionally male, but maintain an intersexual gonadal appearance. == Human interaction ==

The fishery for this species, which began in at least the late 1800s (for salted fish), peaked in 1928 with landings of . Conservation status The California sheephead is considered a vulnerable species because of its high fishing rates off of the coast of Southern California. ==References==