Gunnels (Family: Pholidae) & Pricklebacks (Family: Stichaeidae)
Description: Gunnels and pricklebacks have a unique body shape. They are long and slender, eel-like in shape with reduced fins. As tide pool fish, these species are small to hide within the rocks. Depending on the species, the fish can range from 15 cm to 30 cm in length.
There are two main species of gunnels found at Haystack Rock. Crescent gunnels (Pholis laeta) can come in many different colors from light green to black. The dorsal fin is lined with crescent shapes, hence their name. The saddleback gunnel (Pholis ornata) can be green or brown and has rounded oval bands across their dorsal.
Pricklebacks are named for the short spines on their dorsal fins (even though gunnels have those too). There are a few species of pricklebacks found on the Oregon coast. Cockscomb pricklebacks (Anoplarchus purpurescens) are dark in color - brown, purple, or black. The cockscomb name comes from the lighter colored ridge along the top of their body like a cockscomb (the crest or comb on a rooster). Mosshead warbonnets (Chirolophis nugator) are another kind of prickleback. They can be red to orange to brown with 12-13 white spots or bars along their dorsal fin. The warbonnet term comes from the many cirri covering its head like a feathered headdress or war bonnet. Black pricklebacks (Xiphister atropurpureus) are dark red-brown to black with dark bands pointing backwards from their eyes. At the base of their tail fin, there is a lighter almost white band.
Habitat: Gunnels prefer to be more hidden and live primarily under rocks or within algae or eelgrass beds. Crescent and saddleback gunnels only overlap on part of their full habitat range. The crescent gunnel can be found from Alaska to northern California. The saddleback gunnel can be found from British Columbia, Canada to southern California.
Pricklebacks are very adaptable in terms of habitats. They can live in tide pools, kelp forests, or rocky substrates from Alaska through California.
Diet: Gunnels eat many small bivalves including biting off the cirri of feeding barnacles. Pricklebacks have a broad diet, eating green algae, worms, mollusks, and crustaceans.
Tide Pool Tidbits:
Cockscomb prickleback females can have up to 2,700 eggs at a time. They will wrap their body around their eggs to protect them and keep them aerated. For the black prickleback, it’s the male that wraps its body around the eggs for protection. Saddleback gunnels, on the other hand, have both parents guarding the eggs.
By hiding under rocks, gunnels are kept moist, hidden from the sun even when out of the water. With the added ability of breathing through their skin, gunnels can survive out of the water for 15-25 hours as long as they stay damp and protected under the rocks.
References: The New Beachcomber’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest by J Duane Sept, Fish Base