- Courtesy of California Fish and Game
- artist's drawing
Silver surfperch are native to the eastern Pacific coast with the exception of two species found off the coast of Japan. There are 20 marine and one freshwater species in the family Embiotocidae with about 15 marine and the one lone freshwater species (tule perch, Hysterocarpus traski), being found in California. They are uniquely different from most other bony fishes in that they do not broadcast spawn eggs and sperm. Fertilization is internal and the females give birth to live, highly developed, free swimming young.
Facts and Features
- Geographic Distribution
Southern British Columbia, Canada, to northern Baja, Mexico
- Amazing Facts
California coastal waters are considered to be the center of evolution of the surfperch family.
- At the Aquarium
The Aquarium habitat for silver surfperch is in the Northern Pacific Gallery.
