Pacific Sharpchin Flyingfish

Sightings

2026 season, every one sourced

Photos

From California this season

No photos yet. If you photographed this animal in California this season, post it to the Coastal Bulletin.

Home Range

Where it normally lives

Baja California and the Gulf of California south to Peru.

Range source: FishBase

The species lives from Baja California and the Gulf of California south to Peru, including Clipperton Island and the Galapagos Islands. It stays near the surface, mostly in the open ocean, and comes into coastal water now and then.

Identification

The Pacific sharpchin flyingfish has an iridescent blue back and upper sides, a silver belly and gray "wings." Its dorsal fin is black, and its anal and pelvic fins are clear. The giveaway is the head, with a pointed snout and a lower jaw that juts forward. That profile makes it easy to tell from other flyingfish. Sources put its maximum length between about 8 and 10 inches.

Natural History

Like other flyingfish, it can leap out of the water and glide a long way on its spread fins. Its eggs carry long threads that tie them to floating objects, and the young drift in the plankton.

In California

The first 2026 record came from North San Diego Bay on September 2. A second sharpchin flyingfish was photographed off Dana Point in Orange County on October 6.

Taxonomy

Rarity

Rarity in the compendium is how often the animal has been reported on the California coast this season, not how rare it is where it normally lives. It moves as new sightings come in.