Help with Fish ID Please :-)

[Scubie Doo]

Hello, saw this slender fish at Redondo a few weeks ago. It caught my eye because it looked very similar to a Prickleback in size, but looked very different IMO. It was about 12" in length and we saw it at a depth of 80' +/-. I could only capture the front part of it (I know terrible for ID) sue to my lens setup and the particulates in the water.

Please let me know your thoughts.

[mpenders]

Juvenile Ling?

[Scubie Doo]

Penders, I looked that up and could be. I’ve never seen one that small.


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[nwscubamom]

I agree with your initial assessment of a Prickleback. Under its dark exterior, it looks like it's got markings of a Snake Prickleback, but this one is sure dark and looking oldy-moldy. I also looked at my photos of juvenile Ling Cods and the head shape, while pretty similar, doesn't quite match. (neither do its markings). The scale size also matches a Snake Prickleback. Here's one for comparison with yours.

[Greg Jensen]

Definitely a snake prickleback (whose seen better days)

[Scubie Doo]

Gotcha, that’s what I suspected. But it looked a lot different than others I’ve seen.


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