Opaleye – (FISH-m_benthic) See facts

Name of animal-plant: Opaleye Species name: Girella nigricans Animal type: FISH Subcategory: m_benthic       Openeye fish also known as rudderfish, can be found in shallow waters between 1 to 30 meeters deep in the eastern pacific areas. The openeye is considered an important game fish in sportsfishing.   The body of Girella nigricans is laterally compressed and oval in shape. The snout is blunt and short, with a thick-lipped small mouth located at the front. The species is dentally polymorphic, with some juveniles transitioning from tricuspid teeth to simple teeth.The fins are all relatively short and rounded to blunt in shape and the dorsal fin is continuous and the tail fin has a straight margin. Adults are grey-green to olive green in color in life, with two to six lighter colored spots on the middle of the upper back. A white bar may be present between the eyes. The eyes are opalescent blue-green in color. Juveniles are bluish in color on the dorsal surface and silvery on the ventral surface. They can grow to a maximum length of 66 cm (26 in). Fact: All animals and plants are given a species name based on a technical term in biological taxnomy. The species name consists of two words and is based on Latin. The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs and  the second part identifies the species within the genus. In this animals case it is: Girella nigricans