The cunner (''Tautogolabrus adspersus''), also known as the blue perch, bergall, chogset, choggie, conner or sea perch, is a species of

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them le ...

native to the northwestern

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, where it is found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

to the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

. They inhabit inshore waters living near the sea floor at depths from , preferring areas with beds of

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and '' Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

shipwrecks A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

, or

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locati ...

pilings. They spend the winter months in a state of

torpor Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability. The term "torpor" can refer to the time ...

underneath rocks. They can also be found in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade. Often, cunner is found mixed in with tautogs, living on or near the same structures. Much of the food eaten by those bergall living among blackfish are the leftovers from the blackfishes prey. They can be distinguished from the tautog by their pointed snouts. Cunners are generally smaller, so are usually thrown back by anglers who think they caught a "short" tautog. In past years, they have been important commercial fish, but now are considered pests. They can be confused with black sea bass, rockfish and other

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" ...

, as well as tautog, for their ability to change color. Cunner can enter a hypometabolic state in response to cold temperatures and hypoxic conditions. In Newfoundland, Canada, cunner have been recorded entering a dormant state in Autumn, when temperatures fall below 5°C, and remaining dormant until May/June. ''Tautogolabrus adspersus'' is currently the only known member of its

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

. On May 28, 2015, the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife officially certified the catch of a new state record saltwater fish, weighing 3 pounds, 2.4 ounces and eclipsing the previous state record by 1.9 ounces. It measured 16.5" in length and had a girth of 12.5".

References

Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Labridae Monotypic fish genera Fish described in 1792 {{Labridae-stub