Kingdom Animalia Family Agonidae Genus Agonomalus Order Scorpaeniformes | Class Actinopterygii Phylum Chordata Rank Species | |
Similar Northern spearnose poacher, Rockhead, Agonomalus proboscidalis, Fourhorn poacher | ||
The Kelp poacher (Agonomalus mozinoi) is a fish in the family Agonidae (poachers). It was described by Norman Joseph Wilimovsky and Donald Edward Wilson in 1979, originally under the genus Hypsagonus. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from northern British Columbia, Canada to central California, USA, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a maximum depth of 11 metres (36 ft), and inhabits shallow, rocky regions. It uses its pectoral fins to climb the faces of rocks and crawl on the bottom. Its body is camouflaged by a coating of sponges and seaweed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 8.9 centimetres (3.5 in).
The Kelp poacher is reported to spawn from January to May, in the United States.
References
Kelp poacher Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA