Halfmoon

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the fish. For the town, see Halfmoon, New York. For other uses, see Half Moon (disambiguation).

Halfmoon

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Kyphosidae
Genus: Medialuna
Species:
M. californiensis
Binomial name
Medialuna californiensis
(Steindachner, 1876)
Synonyms[2]
  • Scorpis californiensis Steindachner, 1876

The halfmoon (Medialuna californiensis), also known as the blue perch, is a species of marine

Kyphosidae
. It is native to the coasts of the eastern Pacific Ocean off western North America. It is fished for using hook and line and it is a desirable food fish.

Description

Halfmoon

The halfmoon has an elongate, compressed, oval body with a small pointed head. It has a small, horizontal mouth in which the upper jaw is partially hidden by the orbital bone when the mouth has closed. Each jaw has a single row of pointed teeth. It has a continuous

caudal fin is marginally concave. Most of the head and body is covered in small, thick and rough scales except foe the area forward of the eyes. The colour is dark bluish grey to grey dorsally, paler ventrally sometimes with faint, narrow, vertical bars along the flanks. It has a dark blotch on the upper corner of the gill cover. The margins of the dorsal, anal and caudal fins are dark and the outer edge of each lobe of the caudal fin is white. Juvenile fish are blue above and silvery below.[3] The maximum recorded total length of the halfmoon is 48 centimetres (19 in).[2] The shape of the caudal fin is said to resemble a crescent moon, leading to the common name.[4]

Distribution

The Halfmoon is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean along the western coast of North America from Vancouver Island in the north to the Gulf of California, although it is rare north of Point Conception in California.[2]

Habitat and biology

The halfmoon is frequently observed high in the water column over rocks and at middle depths over

opaleye beneath floating rafts of kelp.[5]

Fisheries

The halfmoon is a prized species for recreational anglers using rod and line, it is a bycatch in traps and bait nets. In California its season runs from August to April. The flesh is lightly flavoured and the fish can be eaten as fillets or whole and cooked in a variety of methods.[4]

Species description

The halfmoon was first formally described as Scorpis californiensis in 1876 by the

type locality given as San Diego, California.[6]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T183618A8145427.en
    . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Medialuna californiensis" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. ^ "Species: Medialuna californiensis, California halfmoon". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Halfmoon/Blue Perch". Sea Grant California. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Halfmoon Medialuna californiensis". Aquarium of the Pacific. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  6. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Scorpis californiensis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 30 April 2020.

External links

  • Photos of Halfmoon on Sealife Collection
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