This is a wonderful picture of a saddleback gunnel. It was found at seaotter.com. While a tidepooler would be hardpressed to find a specimen this nice, these are fairly common fish that can be found in most areas of the coast.

Vital Signs:

Scientific Name: Pholis ornata

Range: Like most of the tidepool fish, this species can be found from Alaska down to California.

Length: Also like most other fish this species usually grows to abou 4 inches.

Habitat: This fish enjoys a rocky substrate. A vast majority of the specimens that we found were in and about the rocks in most of the sites that we visited.

Fun Fish Fact: This fish is commonly confused with the crescent gunnel. When apart, the markings would appear to be very similar. When placed side by side, it is very apparent that they are indeed two differnt species.