The Cabezon is a heavy-bodied, large headed, scaleless member of the sculpin family. Its color pattern ranges from brown, red, or green with dark mottling all over. This makes for excellent camouflage for Cabezon, an ambush hunter.
He lies in wait among rocky reef structure, kelp forests or jetty rocks, then suddenly dashes out to clobber his prey with his giant, toothy mouth. They even have teeth in their throats for grinding prey which usually are heard croaking when caught.
Cabezon can be found from intertidal waters out to 700 feet deep and from Alaska to Baja California. They may grow as long as 3 feet and weigh as much as 25 pounds. Cabezon are widely considered to be one of the best eating bottom fish of the Pacific Ocean, but don’t eat the beautiful purple roe. It contains a phospholipid which is highly toxic to both humans and predators.
