Black Croaker – Cheilotrema saturnum. These fish also go by the names Chinese croaker, croaker, and Mamselle noire (French).

Identifying Characteristics

  • These fish have silver bellies with dark hues of brown, copper, and sometimes purple and blue on their backs and fins.
  • There is a single cream colored vertical bar down the center of the fish.

Range and Habitat

  • Black croakers are found from California to Baja California, and all through the Eastern Pacific.
  • Depending on the species, they like rocky reefs and kelp beds and caves and crevices, in depths around 150 feet.
  • Black croakers like to eat crustaceans.

Market Forms

  • Not a popular species, though black croakers are still fun to catch at the pier or on boats.