California Sheephead (Female)
Semicossyphus pulcher

Physical Description

• Adult females look very different than males (#22).
• Adult females are fully pink with white underbelly.
• Adult females are smaller than males.
• Can grow to be 3 feet long and weigh 35 pounds.
• Protruding teeth used to prey on hard-shelled organisms.
• 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

• Found in rocky reefs and kelp forests.
• Found at depths of 10-100 feet.

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

• Sea urchins, bivalves, barnacles, and bryozoans (microscopic aquatic invertebrates).

Predators

• Harbor seals and sea lions.

Interesting Facts

• California sheephead are all born female but often become male later in life!
• They can live to be 53 years old, which is very old 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 señorita fish will clean it off of their skin and gills.

Sources: California Sea Grant; Monterey Bay Aquarium

Photo: Howard Hall

Try to spot a live Sheephead on Birch Aquarium’s Kelp Cam!