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Cabezon

ON EXHIBIT: Kelp Forest
Cabezon

At the Aquarium

Natural History

“Cabezon” means “large head” in Spanish, and this sculpin gulps some good-sized prey. Cabezon can swallow small, whole abalones, regurgitating the inedible shells.

A cabezon’s life cycle takes it offshore and back. Adults spawn on rocky outcrops, and males guard the eggs until they hatch. The larval young drift out to sea, then develop into small, silvery fish that often hide under mats of drifting kelp. As they grow older, the fish settle into tide pools, then move to reefs and kelp forests.

Conservation

These fish are easily caught while the males are sitting on their nests. Cabezon make up a large component of the shallow water rockfish fishery—a poorly regulated fishery that can easily overfish this species.

Cool Facts

The eggs of cabezon are poisonous to humans and many other mammals and birds.
This is the largest member of the sculpin family in the Monterey Bay area.
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Animal Facts

  • Scientific Name:
    Scorpaenichthys marmoratus
  • Habitat:
    Kelp Forest
  • Animal Type:
    Fishes
  • Diet:
    crustaceans, fishes, molluscs
  • Size:
    to 2.5 feet (76 cm)
  • Range:
    southeast Alaska to Baja California
  • Relatives:
    sculpins; Phylum: Chordata; Family Cottidae
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www.montereybayaquarium.org
886 Cannery Row | Monterey, California 93940
Open every day except Dec. 25
Regular hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Winter: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Summer/holidays: 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
Summer weekends: 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
More information: (831) 648-4800