Fish Identification Photos: Cominate Sea Catfish, Occidentarius platypogon. The Cominate Sea Catfish is grey to olive brown on a black background that transitions to silver grey on the side and white below. The fins are dusky and the anal fin has a white border. It is characterized by large eyes and a wide mouth with thick lips. It has a long dorsal spine and the 2nd dorsal base is approximately two-thirds of the 1st dorsal base.

It is found in the first 150 feet of the water column and reaches a maximum size of 18 inches. The Cominate Sea Catfish is found south of Guerrero Negro on the Pacific side of the Baja, in the lower two-thirds of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala; it appears to be absent from the oceanic islands. The Cominate Sea Catfish is most readily confused with the Tete Sea Catfish, Arius seemanni (pelvic fins with white borders).

The Cominate Sea Catfish is a member of the Ariidae Family of Sea Catfish, known in Mexico as Barges, which are easy to recognize by the two or three pairs of whiskers or barbells around their mouths. They all have two dorsal fins, the second of which (the adipose fin) is a simple skin flap without structure, and deeply forked caudal fins.

The Cominate Sea Catfish has three sets of barbells, a complete lateral line and a long serrated stiff spine that is venomous at the front of the dorsal fin and serrated pectoral fins. It feeds on small fishes and benthic invertebrates including clams, crabs and mollusks and reside over coastal sandy and mud bottoms.

The Cominate Sea Catfish is the only member of the Occidentarius Genus found globally.

Cominate Sea Catfish, Occidentarius platypogon: Photos courtesy of John Snow. Cominate Sea Catfish, Occidentarius platypogon: Caught from shore mid-day in April 2002 in 74-degree water in the “suds” utilizing 15 pound test with a two dropper loop rig (no swivels), 1.5-oz bank sinker, and Mustad 92553 hooks, size 4, on cut Squid at the commercial beach in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Size approximately 10 inches and 1 pound. A “catch and release.” Photo courtesy of John Snow..

Cominate Sea Catfish, Occidentarius platypogon: Caught at Bahia Concepcion, south of Mulege, Baja California, Sur, Mexico, by Gabriella and Orlando Cordon. Fish I.D. by Peter Langstraat