northern spearnose poacher
Agonopsis vulsa (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880)
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.
At the Vancouver Aquarium
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Open encyclopedia reference
The northern spearnose poacher (Agonopsis vulsa), also known as the window-tailed sea-poacher or the windowtail poacher, is a fish in the family Agonidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1880, originally under the genus Agonus. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the eastern Pacific Ocean, including southeastern Alaska to southern California, USA. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 163 metres (0 to 535 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in).
The northern spearnose poacher is sometimes used as a public aquarium fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Northern spearnose poacher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:42:13.543232+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Agonopsis vulsa (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880)
- Name authority
- (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880)
- Common name
- northern spearnose poacher
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Agonidae
- Genus
- Agonopsis
- 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
- orderPerciformes
- suborderCottoidei
- familyAgonidae Swainson, 1839
- subfamilyAgoninae Swainson, 1839
- genusAgonopsis Gill, 1861
- speciesAgonopsis vulsa (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Agonopsis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Agonopsis asperoculis Thompson, 1916 | AgonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Agonopsis chiloensis (Jenyns, 1840) | AgonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| southern spearnose poacherAgonopsis sterletus (Gilbert, 1898) | AgonidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Podothecus vulsus (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880) (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880) | synonym |
| Agonopsis emmelane (Jordan & Starks, 1895) (Jordan & Starks, 1895) | synonym |
| Agonus vulsus Jordan & Gilbert, 1880 Jordan & Gilbert, 1880 | synonym |
| Averruncus emmelane Jordan & Starks, 1895 Jordan & Starks, 1895 | synonym |
| Stelgis vulsus (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880) (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880) | synonym |
| Xystes axinophrys Jordan & Starks, 1895 Jordan & Starks, 1895 | 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=279522 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:5TT25. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.