Facts: The Mexican Hogfish

The Mexican hogfish is a large wrasse that inhabits the eastern Pacific Ocean from Baja California to northern Chile, including all oceanic islands. These wrasses are considered to be abundant throughout much of their range. Adults prefer shallower water from 15 to 60 feet deep over rocky and coral reefs. They tend to be solitary or in aggregations of only a few individuals. Males and females look very different. Females have a reddish or blue-green coloration, with a yellow tail and two dark interrupted stripes running along the body. Males have a large bump on their forehead. The tips of all their fins, except the pectoral fins, are long and filamentous. Their body color is a variable bluish gray to red, with a yellow vertical bar at their mid-body. Adults can grow to about 2.5 feet long. Very young juveniles are lemon yellow in color. Mexican hogfish feed opportunistically on crustaceans, mollusks, brittle stars, sea urchins, and small fish. They have two pairs of strong canine teeth at the front of their upper and lower jaws. The bright yellow juveniles are known to be cleaners, eating organisms off of other animals. Mexican hogfish are protogenous hermaphrodites. A fish will start life as a female and may become a male later in life. Males defend temporary reproductive territories. For more marine facts, click the SUBSCRIBE button!!