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Xiphister mucosus (Girard, 1858)

Rock prickleback
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Xiphister mucosus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Xiphister mucosus (Rock prickleback)
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drawing shows typical species in Stichaeidae.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Zoarcoidei (Eelpouts and pricklebacks) > Stichaeidae (Pricklebacks) > Xiphisterinae
Etymology: Xiphister: Greek, xiphos = armed with sword (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Girard.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 0 - 18 m (Ref. 2850). Subtropical; 59°N - 34°N, 156°W - 118°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Pacific: Port San Juan, southeastern Alaska to Santa Cruz Island, southern California, USA.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 58.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2850); max. reported age: 11 years (Ref. 56049)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 71 - 77; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 46 - 50. Caudal small and rounded, directed upward; pectorals as minute flaps (Ref. 6885). Greenish black with several dusky white bars on posterior part of body, 2 dark bands diverging back from each eye, each band double with a paler center (Ref. 6885).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Found in rocky areas, from intertidal to 18 m depth, mostly on exposed coast (Ref. 2850). May remain out of water under rocks or seaweed (Ref. 31184). Feed mainly on algae (Ref. 6885). Oviparous, eggs are laid in several clumps or masses which are guarded by the male (Ref. 58332). Breathe air (Ref. 31184) and can stay out of water for 17-23 hours if kept moist (Ref. 51276).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Female lays eggs in a cluster under a rock, male guards the egg mass by wrapping his body around it (Ref. 2850)

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p. (Ref. 2850)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 8.9 - 12.8, mean 10.1 °C (based on 164 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.7500   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00102 (0.00046 - 0.00225), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.2   ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=5; tmax=11; Fec-9,500).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100).