The monkeyface prickleback (''Cebidichthys violaceus''), also commonly known as the monkeyface eel, is a species of

prickleback Stichaeidae, the pricklebacks or shannies, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes in the suborder Zoarcoidei of the order Scorpaeniformes. Most species are found in the North Pacific Ocean with a few in the North Atlantic Ocean. Taxonomy St ...

native to the Pacific coast of North America. Despite being commonly called an eel due to its body shape, it does not fall into the fish order

Anguilliformes Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stag ...

with true eels, but the

Perciformes Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...

along with nearly half of all bony fish.

Ecology

Ranging from southern

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

down to the northern reaches of the Mexican state of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, monkeyface pricklebacks are

coastal fish Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epi ...

that live in rocky, tidal areas close to shore. First described by Girard in 1854, the fish spawn on the sea floor and show some nest guarding behavior. While young monkeyface pricklebacks feed on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

and crustaceans, adults are primarily

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

, feeding on

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and green algae. Adults have few predators other than humans, but young fish are vulnerable to birds and other fish, such as grass rockfish. The species reaches a maximum size of and may live up to 18 years. The heaviest monkeyface prickleback recorded to date was just over .

Fishery

California Academy of Sciences - Steinhart Aquarium 5 2016-11-09

Monkeyface pricklebacks have long been sought after for their edible white flesh, with remains found in the

middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...

of Native American peoples along the California coast. In the modern era, the fish's appeal is and has always been mostly among amateur anglers. The most common method of acquiring it is "poke poling": a technique involving a long

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

rod and a baited hook stuck into the crevices where monkeyface prickleback are known to hide. In 2012, a fad for monkeyface eel in restaurants of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

spawned a tiny commercial fishery, mostly spurred by local foragers interested in catch that is unusual and less heavily fished.

References

External links

Monkeyface-eel
at the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey Bay Aquarium is a nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in October 1984. Its biologists ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1995237 Xiphisterinae Fish described in 1854