Taxonomy

Rarity

Abundance rates how many are in suitable habitat. Find difficulty rates how hard it is to locate one on a daylight snorkel or freedive through 50 ft. A higher find score means a harder search. The rarity category also reflects the kind of encounter; it is not an average of the 2 scores.

Seasonality

Location

The popeye catalufa ranges along the continental shelf, the shallow edge of the continent, from Monterey Bay to Peru, including the Revillagigedo, Cocos and Galapagos Islands. Wikipedia gives a wider range, from Oregon to Chile. FishBase records it in rocky habitat from under 16 feet to over 330 feet. It may share reefs with squirrelfishes and cardinalfishes but tends to range deeper.

Deep Dive

A catalufa is a member of the bigeye family, and the eye is the first thing to notice. The body is deep, oval and strongly flattened from side to side, with an upturned mouth and a jutting lower jaw. It reaches about 13 inches, and most are near 8 inches. Color runs from uniform pink to crimson. Juveniles have faint dark bands that fade, and the outer edges of the tail and pelvic fins, the lower paired fins, are black.

It is described as a nocturnal feeder. Mexican Fish, whose author has caught them on cut squid in the Los Cabos area, reports they will also bite at midday at about 150 to 300 feet. That source also notes that the species is poorly studied.

Where to Find Them

Researched habitat and range candidates

These locations have suitable habitat within the species range. An assignment is a possible encounter, not a confirmed sighting at every beach. Season, depth, and local conditions still matter. Historical habitat without present-day evidence is excluded.