opaleye
Girella nigricans (Ayres, 1860)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Girella nigricans at the Birch Aquarium in San Diego, California, USA.
Stickpen · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Girella nigricans, commonly known as the opaleye or rudderfish, is a species of sea chub found in the Eastern Pacific, from California to southern Baja California. A rarely documented isolated population also exists in the Gulf of California, which might be genetically different from the rest of the species. They are commonly found in shallow waters and intertidal zones, usually over rocks and kelp beds, at depths of 1 to 32 m (3.3 to 105.0 ft). They feed primarily on algae, but will occasionally consume sessile invertebrates (including crustaceans, worms, and molluscs). They are considered commercially important game fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Girella nigricans; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:30:22.506899+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Girella nigricans (Ayres, 1860)
- Name authority
- (Ayres, 1860)
- Common name
- opaleye
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Centrarchiformes
- Family
- Kyphosidae
- Genus
- Girella
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCentrarchiformes
- familyKyphosidae Jordan, 1887
- subfamilyGirellinae Gill, 1862
- genusGirella Gray, 1835
- speciesGirella nigricans (Ayres, 1860)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Girella. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Girella albostriata Steindachner, 1898 | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella elevata MacLeay, 1881 | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella freminvillii (Valenciennes, 1846) | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella laevifrons (Tschudi, 1846) | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella mezina Jordan & Starks, 1907 | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gulf opaleyeGirella simplicidens Osburn & Nichols, 1916 | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella tephraeops (Richardson, 1846) | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella zebra (Richardson, 1846) | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella stuebeli Troschel, 1866 | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella simplex (Richardson, 1848) | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella cyanea MacLeay, 1881 | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Girella feliciana Clark, 1938 | KyphosidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Camarina nigricans Ayres, 1860 Ayres, 1860 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=280865 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3G3R5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.