Pigfish (Orthopristis chrysoptera)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Eupercaria incertae sedis · Family: Haemulidae · Genus: Orthopristis.

Accepted name: Orthopristis chrysoptera · Authority: (Linnaeus, 1766) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 158810.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Haemulon chrysopterum (Linnaeus, 1766); Labrus fulvomaculatus Mitchill, 1815; Labrus fulvo-maculatus Mitchill, 1815; Orthopristis chrysopterus (Linnaeus, 1766); Orthopristis duplex Girard, 1858; Orthopristis fulvomaculatus (Mitchill, 1815); Orthopristis poeyi Scudder, 1868; Perca chrysoptera Linnaeus, 1766; Pomadasys fulvomaculatus (Mitchill, 1815); Pristipoma fasciatum Cuvier, 1830; Pristipoma fulvomaculatum (Mitchill, 1815).

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=158810 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Orthopristis chrysoptera. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 46 cm · Common length: 30 cm · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: short and / or deep · Vulnerability index: 30.1 of 100 · Fishery importance: minor commercial · Aquarium trade: public aquariums.

FishBase notes: Inhabits coastal waters, over sand and mud bottoms. Forms schools. Mainly nocturnal and non-burrowing. Feeds on crustaceans and smaller fishes. Undergoes seasonal migration as well as local nocturnal-diurnal foraging migrations (Ref. 25).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 5) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Orthopristis-chrysoptera.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

75,314 georeferenced occurrence records for Orthopristis chrysoptera are published through GBIF from 13 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 74 distinct locations from a sample of 3,000 records, omitting 54 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: United States of America (74,654); Puerto Rico (443); Mexico (183); Bermuda (17); Cuba (5).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2382797) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2382797&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=158810 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Orthopristis chrysoptera (Linnaeus, 1766) as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 192937) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/192937/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2382797) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2382797/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Orthopristis chrysoptera was first formally described as Perca chrysoptera in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus with the type locality given as Carolina. It is now thought this means the Bahamas or South Carolina. When Charles Frédéric Gerard described Orthopristis duplex in 1858 he placed it in a new genus. This taxon was later shown to be a junior synonym of Linnaeus's P. chrysoptera, so this species is the type species of the genus Orthopristis. The specific name chrysoptera means "golden-finned." Linnaeus did not explain this, but it may refer to the row of bronze spots on the dorsal fin or the yellowish paired fins.

Orthopristis chrysoptera is found in the western Atlantic Ocean along the east coast of the United States and Mexico. Its range extends from Massachusetts to Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, including the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba. It is also found in Bermuda. A single specimen was reported off the coast of southern Sicily in 2020, likely after being transported accidentally by a ship.

Orthopristis chrysoptera attains a maximum total length of 46 cm, although 30 cm is more typical, and the maximum recorded weight is 900 g.

This species has an elliptical, oval shaped, compressed body with a thin-lipped small mouth which does not extend to the eye and is not coloured red inside. The jaws have a narrow band of thin teeth. The dorsal fin contains 12–13 spines and a similar number of soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 12–13 soft rays, the second spine is slightly thicker and longer than the third. The entire body is covered in scales apart from the tip of the snout, lips and chin.

The Pigfish is pale bluish-grey on its back and silvery on its underside. Every scale on its body has a blue center and a bronze spot on the margin, creating diagonal orange-brown stripes running up an along the flanks and back. The stripes below the lateral line are horizontal. There are bronze spots on the head and the fines are a yellowish- bronze with dusky margins.

Orthopristis chrysoptera are found at depths between 1 and 20 m, where they can be found in estuaries and bays, sometimes entering canals, but seldom waters of very low salinity. Within these shallow waters they inhabit a range of habitats, residing over soft substrates such as sand or silt, hard substrates including jetties, reefs and oil rigs, as well as shell banks. They may be found both in coastal waters and over the continental shelf.

The main spawning season occurs during the Spring, starting in late winter. Spawning takes place at dusk, and may occur offshore in open waters or in more sheltered situations inshore. The larger fish typically spawn earlier in the season. All fish lose condition over this spawning season. The eggs and larvae are pelagic. Eggs hatch after only 48 hours into larvae, which become juveniles at approximately 7 cm in length. The maximum reported age of the Pigfish is 4 years, but most only live to 3 years of age.

Pigfish are predatory fish, emerging from shelters to feed at night. Their main prey is benthic invertebrates. As with many species of predatory fish, prey size increases with the size of the fish. Younger fish typically feed on planktonic crustaceans while larger fish feed on polychaetes, larger crustaceans, molluscs and smaller fish. They have even been recorded eating insect larvae in brackish waters. Pigfish are a migratory species and thus move offshore during the winter to reside in warmer, deeper water. When they return inshore in the Springtime they are often found in poor condition, suggesting that the offshore food supply is of low quality. They also undertake shorter distance migrations to and from feeding areas and shelters on a daily basis.

The pigfish likely gets its name from the chattering noises they create when they are captured. The pigfish creates this grunting noise by rubbing its pharyngeal teeth together, in the same manner as the other grunt species. When feeding, pigfish use these teeth to grind up shellfish and small bits of other food.

Orthopristis chrysoptera is caught using hook and line, traps and seines. The catch is not recorded separately for this species. The flesh is normally sold fresh. It is often caught to be used as bait in angling and commercial fisheries for other, larger fish such as the spotted sea trout (Cynoscion nebulosus).

Source: Wikipedia: Orthopristis chrysoptera — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthopristis_chrysoptera (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

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