Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Gasterosteiformes
(Sticklebacks and seamoths) > Aulorhynchidae
Etymology: Aulorhynchus: Greek, aulos = flute + Greek, rhyngchos = snout (Ref. 45335). More on author: Gill.
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 6885). Temperate; 59°N -
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 18.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2850); max. reported age: 9 years (Ref. 56049)
(total): 24 - 27;
soft rays: 9. Spinous dorsal represented by a series of small spines, free from membrane; soft dorsal fin triangular and placed well back on body; caudal fin small and finely forked; anal fin spine small and broad, the fin mirroring the soft dorsal fin; pectorals truncate (Ref. 6885). Pale mottled brown, varying from olive green to yellow brown dorsally; creamy white ventrally; a bright silvery patch between operculum and pectorals extending to throat and bounded above by a dark band that extends forward through eye to snout; breeding males with bright red snout and phosphorescent snout (Ref. 6885).
Eastern Pacific: Sitka, Alaska to Punta Banda, northern Baja California, Mexico.
Found in kelp beds, eelgrass, rocky areas, and over sand bottoms (Ref. 2850). Usually near the surface in schools, sometimes in dense schools well offshore (Ref. 2850). Feeds on small crustaceans and fish larvae (Ref. 6885). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 57178.
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 336 p.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Aquarium: public aquariums
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
CollaboratorsPicturesStamps, CoinsSoundsCiguateraSpeedSwim. typeGill areaOtolithsBrainsVision
Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 1.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00093 (-0.20675 - 0.20862), b=3.11 (2.99 - 3.22), based on LWR estimates for this family-BS (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.4 ±0.42 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=1; tmax=9; Fec=1,200; K=0.5).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Low vulnerability (25 of 100) .