The California corbina (''Menticirrhus undulatus''), or California kingcroaker, is marine

demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They oc ...

in the croaker family. It can often be found along sandy

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es and in shallow

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

s. This species travels in small groups along the

surf zone The surf zone or breaker zone is the nearshore part of a body of open water between the line at which the waves break and the shore. As ocean surface waves approach a shore, they interact with the bottom, wave shoaling, get taller and steeper, an ...

in a few inches of water to depths of . Other names include "California kingcroaker", "California whiting", and "kingfish".

Description

California corbina are uniformly grey in color with some iridescence and have an elongated and slightly compressed body shape in comparison to other croakers. Like all members of the genus ''Menticirrhus,'' the California corbina lacks a

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ (anatomy), organ in bony fish that functions to modulate buoyancy, and thus allowing the fish to stay at desired water depth without having to maintain lift ...

but is able to produce a croaking sound. It is believed that the loss of the swim bladder evolved to facilitate living in a turbulent environment. This species and the

yellowfin croaker The yellowfin croaker (''Umbrina roncador'') is a species of croaker occurring from the Gulf of California, Mexico, to Point Conception, California. They frequent bays, channels, harbors and other nearshore waters over sandy bottoms. These croak ...

are the only two of the eight coastal croakers found in California waters to exhibit a single

barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprini ...

on the lower jaw. The California corbina's barbel is short and stiff and is used to detect prey. The upper half of the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

has a concave trailing edge, while the lower half trailing edge is convex. The largest recorded specimen was and 8.5 pounds.

Distribution and habitat

California corbina is reported to occur from the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, to

Point Conception Point Conception (Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Humqaq'') is a headland along the Gaviota Coast in southwestern Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is the point where the Santa Barbara Channel meets the Pacific Ocean, and as ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. However, the IUCN questions the extent of the California corbina's southern range due to the presence of similar and easily misidentified species that exist in the Gulf of California. California corbina are commonly found in the shallow troughs and ditches running parallel sandy beaches and shallow bays up to a depth of . California corbina are often found in small groups, however, adults have been observed traveling solitarily as well. The California Corbina works the shallows of sandy beaches searching for food in the shallows and seeking cover below the rough white water created by waves.

Ecology

Diet

The California corbina's diet consists of crustaceans, small fish, bivalves, and other small invertebrates. California corbina have been observed feeding in just a few inches of water in the upper surf. To feed, they scoop up mouthfuls of

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

and separate the food by expelling the sand through the

gills A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

and spitting out bits of

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc. The word is often applied only to those that are deemed edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the sea floor or riverbeds. Clams h ...

shells and other foreign matter.

Life cycle

Males mature at approximately 2 years of age and a length of about 10 inches and females at age 3 and about 13 inches in length.

Spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

extends from June to September, but is heaviest during July and August. The eggs are free floating. Population size, recruitment, and mortality of this species is currently unknown.

Fisheries

The California corbina is targeted by commercial and sport fisheries. California corbina may be caught throughout the year, but fishing reaches its peak in summer and late fall. Due to the fact that California corbina live near shore, they are most often caught by fishermen on beaches, piers, and jetties; not on private boats or fishing vessels. This species is occasionally caught as by-catch by shrimp trawling vessels.

Conservation status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the California corbina as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

due to outstanding questions about the species' distribution. There are no known conservation efforts that specifically target the California corbina, however, part of its distribution is protected by various

marine protected area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

s. There has been a decline in catch since the early 2000s, but it is not known if this reflects a decline in population.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q692017 California cortina Western North American coastal fauna Fish of the Gulf of California Fish of the Western United States Fish described in 1854