#Sheephead wrasse

[mysticdoodles]

hi i saw a post about the fish playing with the human child and even though your addition to that post is 3 years old by now i would love to hear more about ftm sheephead fish :3 (no pressure btw!)

Fish curiosity, in my inbox?? It's more likely than I think, apparently! xD

First off, there's actually multiple fish dubbed 'sheephead'! There's the sheepshead- note the extra S in there- and they look like this:

And yes those are their teeth. Horrifying tbh, but they're very good at what they do- crushing invertebrates and other shelled snacks! They're an Atlantic species that sticks to temperate and warmer waters, and they max out at about half a meter in length.

That's not the fish we're talking about today. The focus of today is the California sheephead wrasse- note the lack of a second S- also known as the 'sheephead' for short. Not confusing at all! We definitely don't bash our heads into walls over the naming conventions and lack of record-keeping of our scientist predecessors.

THIS is the sheephead wrasse, the species of the lovely and now Tumblr-famous Red! :D With a length of up to a FULL meter, they're a whole different size class of fish! They can be found along the west coast USA from the Baja Peninsula all the way up to Monterey, and dwell almost exclusively in kelp forests and nearby environments. I will use one of Red's pics as an example of female coloration-

The lighting isn't great but you can see how her body is streamlined, and besides the white underside of the jaw, has a salmon-pink coloration! Females can be pink or a dull silver-beige. And much like other large marine wrasse, MALES have a drastically different appearance.

This thing is built like a damn tank!! Sheephead are a species of wrasse that shift colors to gain those striking black scales and physically bulk up when becoming males- because guess what? ALL OF THEM ARE BORN FEMALE! By default, all male California Sheephead are FTM trans :) They use that bulky head and extremely tough set of jaws to not only hunt their preferred prey- mollusks, gastropods, and bivalves, etc- but also to bash and chomp down on rival males. This one has won many battles, look at that scarred up muzzle!

The sex change is determined by several factors, as it's not guaranteed all sheephead will eventually become males. Because sheephead school in a harem system- many females to very few males- in order to maximize pressure of stronger offspring, the biggest and healthiest sheephead male will drive out competition from the school. Naturally, a sheephead that lives longer and gains a greater size will have a much higher chance of shifting from a female to a male, if the conditions are right. Stress induced from competition can suppress the hormones that stimulate this transition in females, so they're less likely to gain size and shift from female to male if there's already strong competition taking place. However, in the event there are too few males to mate with the females, or no males present at all, the biggest female will start transitioning to fill the empty slot! It's a long process that can take as few as a couple months, or up to years, depending on resources available.

Conversely, if there are TOO MANY males, they can revert back into females! This process also takes a long time, and is a lot more rare to witness, especially because right now male California sheephead in particular are being spear-fished into becoming an Endangered species :c Sheephead adult males in good condition are considered a trophy animal in spear-fishing and similar marine trophy hunting off the West coast, and because males in particular are being targeted, the gene pool is being reduced when it wrecks the harem structure of schools.

As a fun fact- they're also an incredibly smart fish, and can form relationships with humans, as demonstrated with me and sweetiepie Red cx There's many documented cases of large marine wrasses forming long-term friendships with divers! Here's a humphead wrasse that made friends with a diver she learned would crack snails open for her with a hammer:

I don't work at the facility with Red anymore, but I currently work with two unnamed adult male sheephead, and once again they both like me and seem to despise all my coworkers, even if I never had the opportunity to train them like I did with little Red xD They pick favorites I guess? Now if only I could make friends with the garibaldi...

#marine life #marine biology #Sheephead wrasse #California sheephead #sheephead #wrasse #fish

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Daily fish fact #462

California sheephead!

They use their sharp teeth to crack open hard-shelled prey like sea urchins, crabs and clams! They're vital in helping kelp forests grow, as they eat sea urchins that eat the kelp.

#decided to make a fish fact on them! #thank you anon :) #fish #fishfact #fish facts #fishblr #marine biology #marine life #marine animals #sea creatures #sea animals #sea life #biology #zoology #california sheephead #sheephead wrasse #wrasse

[vikary401]

day 3 - wrasse

this guy is sooo freaky looking i respect it

asian sheephead wrasse for you!

#fishuary2024 #fish #fishblr #wrasse #asian sheephead wrasse #sheephead #sheephead wrasse

[salmonidae]

california sheephead (semicossyphus pulcher)

one of the largest members of the wrasse family, the california sheephead is a vital part of kelp forest ecosystems. they prey on shelled creatures, which includes sea urchins, who are kelp grazers. their large teeth allow them to crush through the shells of their prey. they are protogynous fish and often travel in a harem - with one dominant male leading a group of females.

this species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list.

gif creds: our planet (2019)

#zoology #biology #marine biology #ichthyology #osteichthyes #actinopterygii #wrasse #labriformes #labridae #fish #vulnerable species #our planet #california sheephead

[marinememes]

Today is Wet Beast Wednesday!

Today's wet beast is: California Sheephead

Olive's West Beast Fact: These guys have really fucked up human-like teeth!

Stay tuned for more Wet Beast Wednesdays!

#wet beast wednesday #California sheephead #this is my first of many Wet Beast Wednesdays #marine biology #fish #aquarium #wrasse #oceancore #sea animals #ocean aesthetic #my photo

[circadiancrunch]

Lil babby prints of a big ol’ wrasse This is my second linocut, but it’s better than the first and that’s progress :V

#wrasse #sheephead #California Sheephead #fish #marinefish #california wildlife #kelp forest #linocut #block print

[thatonebylershipper]

Fishuary day 3: Wrasse

these little guys are so silly i love them so much

reference photo under the cut :)

#fishuary2024 #wrasse #asian sheephead wrasse #it is a shame that lil guy doesnt have his own tag :((((

[herpsandbirds]

California Sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher), family Labridae, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA

* These large wrasse are protogynous hermaphrodites. They all start off their life as females, and some of them become males when they are older.

Photograph via: National Park Service

#nature #animals #fish #wrasse #sheepshead #labridae #Semicossyphus #ocean #ichthyology #north america

[spiralshells]

Was going through old sketchbooks recently and came across a set of drawings from when I was working on some Fakemon species for a California-based setting. This is one of my favorites, a line based on the California sheephead wrasse (with a little native bighorn sheep thrown in). Like its inspiration, it is a protogynous hermaphroditic species: all are born female, but the most dominant adult females in their territories transition to male.

From top to bottom, their names are Lambish, Yuwish, and Rambish. All Lambish are female and evolve into Yuwish by level-up. A Yuwish becomes a Rambish by winning a number of consecutive battles against other Yuwish (for the actual fish I think the transition usually occurs in the largest-sized females, but for a Pokemon setting I thought this sounded more fun than just grinding for an extra-large one).

#my fakemon #digital art #creature design #pokemon #spiralshells art

[jumpintothewaves]

Weirdo Wednesday

Happy June! Check out this week’s weirdo...

The California Sheephead: Semicossyphus pulcher

A popular sport fish residing in California’s rich kelp forest, this snaggletoothed weirdo is a large wrasse that gets about 3 feet long (36 lbs). They enjoy the cold coastal waters and you don’t find them deeper than 100ft below. During the 1800s they were a popular fish to dry and salt in the Chinese community in Monterey Bay. Eventually, commercial fisheries began to supply live ones to Asian markets, often targeting younger ones that could fit in the tanks easier. Undisturbed by predators, the sheephead can live up to 53 years!! 

Unique life cycle

Like a lot of fish, the California sheephead starts out as plankton, but every California sheephead plankton start out female. It takes 4 years for this weirdo to reach sexual maturity, during this time it is hermaphroditic. Once they reach sexual maturity, they become fully functional female fish. Female sheephead form a harem around a male, but how can there be males when they’re all born female?? These fish have the ability to become male when they need to! For example if the male leading the harem dies, the largest and most dominant female will take the lead! 

The above photo was taken from a super cool blog I recommend you guys check out btw!! The transitioning sheephead takes on the male characteristics, such as the buck teeth and bump on their head. They also take on male duties which involves finding spawning sites and defending the harem from rival males. The stress of being man of house takes a toll on the sheephead. Research done on them shows a decrease in male lifespans compared to females, and this decrease is more defined in areas with less food. 

Conservation

The California sheephead is a predator in the kelp forest who keeps urchin and crab populations under control. Those teeth are strong enough to break through the hard shells of their favorite foods. Their roll in the food web is vital to healthy kelp growth, the plant that sequesters carbon and is an ecosystem engineer for rocky shores. The department of fish and wildlife has put catch limits on the sheephead because their population is dropping, and is currently considered vulnerable. Overfishing is the cause of their decline, but sport fishing plays an interesting role. Most people target the large males, which means younger females must transition to protect the harem. The cycle continues and result in younger, smaller males leading harems. For the sake of the oxygen, the kelp, those who rely on this weirdo food, and the sheephead itself, we should be more careful about how much we take. 

#The Ocean #weirdo wednesday #conservation #fish #marine biology #california #kelp forest #anoosh montafian #not my drawing #fishing

[mysticdoodles]

i need pics of red pls

This question actually made me panic-search my phone, because I was terrified I'd lost those pictures in a recent phone debacle- but by sheer luck, I still have them!! :D

Behold, the girl herself!

It's been a long time since I took these pics, so the color and quality aren't amazing on my old phone camera, and she's likely MUCH bigger now- maybe even transitioned into being a male!

This is her following me around outside feeding time xD

And her preemptively doing the surface-munch because she knew it was lunchtime once I showed up lmao. That rockfish in the background isn't impressed, but it lets them eat in peace.

And one last beautiful mugshot of those kissy lips <3 She had gorgeous pearly white teeth behind that smile >u< Red liked to try to peek at me through windows in the condensation when it got really hot outside.

#marine biology #Red #sheephead #sheephead wrasse #marine life #fish

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Idk if anyone's asked BUT what are ur thoughts on the California Sheephead

I absolutely adore that fish

This is the first time I’d ever heard of the species, but having looked into it, it’s a really wonderful fish!! I love how colourful the males are! They also seem to have an important role in the ecosystems they inhabit. Very cool and good fish, I give it a 10/10 :)

Here is a male and a female so you can all see their pretty colours! All individuals are born female, but may become male once they’re large and it’s more effective to reproduce as a male than as a female.

#asks #anonymous asks #anon #anonymous #sheephead wrasse #wrasse

[alalumin]

Everyone quick take a look at this cute puppy photo I found!

Haha I tricked you, it was sheephead wrasse >:)

And she is gorgeous

[aggiepython]

speaking of wrasse, check out this california sheephead wrasse from wikipedia. the file is named "Fishy_fishy.jpg" and it's accurate, that's the fishiest fishy i've ever seen. usually wikipedia images are named boring things but since finding this one, i mouse over them in the hopes of finding other funny ones.

#more fishposting #wrasse

[sitting-on-me-bum]

A Sheephead wrasse scavenges across the reef.

(Photo: Cristina Mittermeier / SeaLegacy)

#cristina mittermeier #photographer #sealegacy #sheephead wrasse #fish #marine photography #galapagos #reef #underwater photography #nature

[eelmachine]

groupers and morays r my fav combo im so happy 4 them :,)

#my fav fav fav example of dif animals communicating and working together #if u didn know groupers and morays will hunt together #the grouper shows up to the eels den and does this little dance and then they go hunt together #and the eels slither in the reef and coral and such and scare the fish out for the grouper to catch #and at the same time the grouper scares the fish back into the reef where the eel grabs them #theyre about 5 times more effective at catching fish when the ywork together than when they are apart! #also its been shown that fish species and such can have the capacity to bond with others and hold familiarity and memory of the bonded #like honey the moray eel who bonded with a human #and that wrasse that bonded and visited that japanese diver and now has its own nderater shrine #asian sheephead wrasse 2 be exact B) #underwater** #anyone called groupermeat and wanna be best friends LOL #come to my underwater cave and dance with me and then we can go get lunch <3