Meet our November Fish of the Month, the Cabezon, Scorpaenichthys marmoratus!

Survey Regions: The Cabezon is commonly found throughout REEF's PAC region, from southern California to British Columbia, and occasionally north to Alaska. Click here to see a distribution for this species in the REEF database.

Size: They are about 2-3 ft, and grow to a maximum size of about 3.5 ft.

Identifying Features: They have a marbled body in a variety of earth tones. Males typically come in red shades and females are greenish. They also have a large, bulbous head and a stout body, with a cirri above each eye and another one centered near the tip of their snout.

Fun Facts: Cabezon means "large head" in Spanish. They are one of the largest members of the sculpin family, related to scorpionfishes. Cabezons live on rocky bottoms near kelp beds, and males will fiercely guard nests of eggs from predators.  

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for our next Fish of the Month.

Photo by Tom Nicodemus.