Rubber Lip Perch

Rhacochilus toxotes

Rubber Lip Perch

Rhacochilus toxotes

Other Common Names
Rubberlip Seaperch, Rubberlip Surfperch

Connected Coasts

Other Common Names

Rubberlip Seaperch, Rubberlip Surfperch

At the Aquarium

Connected Coasts

Appearance

The color of the rubber lip perch varies. Their backs can be iridescent brown, olive, golden, silver or black. Their bellies can be pinkish, purplish, golden or silver. There is often a darker vertical bar in the middle of their body. Juveniles are mostly pinkish.

The rubber lip perch is oval shaped with thick pink to whitish lips.

Rubber lip perches can grow up to 18 inches.

Habitat

Kelp forests and rocky areas including tidepools, bays and harbors. Lives in depths up to 80 m.

Diet

Adults feed on crabs, shrimp and octopus. Juveniles feed on worms, small crabs, mussels and tiny snails.

Life History

Like all surfperch, the rubber lip perch is viviparous meaning females give birth to live young. After being fertilized by a male, the eggs will develop and grow inside the female. After birth these little fish will continue to grow from juveniles into adults.

The rubber lip perch typically forms schools of about fifty fish.

They have a lifespan of 7 to 10 years.

IUCN Status

Not Evaluated

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Rubber lip perch are prey for a variety of species including bigger fish, marine mammals, and birds.

Rubber lip perch are common in recreational fishing.

Northern California (Russian Gulch) to Baja California, Mexico.

This animal is not native to the Oregon Coast, however is found in the larger Pacific Ocean. It lives in the Aquarium as part of our Connected Coasts gallery.

Their mouths act like a vacuum when they use their flexible lips to clamp onto rocks and suck up their small invertebrate prey.

Citations & Other Resources

California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2020. Rubberlip Seaperch. Marine Species Portal. https://marinespecies.wildlife.ca.gov/rubberlip-seaperch/false/.
Kells, V. A. 2016. A field guide to coastal fishes. From Alaska to California. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Miller, D. J., and R. N. Lea. 1972. Fish Bulletin 157. Guide To The Coastal Marine Fishes of California.
Snyderman, M. 1998. California marine life: a guide to common marine species. Roberts Rinehart Publishers in cooperation with Monterey Bay Aquarium, Niwot, Colo.
Fritzsche, R.A., and T.J. Hassler. 1989. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Pacific Southwest)–pi le perch, striped seaperch, and rubberl ip seaperch. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11.103). U.S. Arm~· Corps of Engi:ieers, TR EL-82-4. 15 pp.

Rubber Lip Perch

Rubber Lip Perch

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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