Fish Identification Photos: Sharpnose Lizardfish, Synodus evermanni: The Sharpnose Lizardfish is fairly easy to identify, due to, yes, you guessed it, its long snout and sharply pointed nose with a fleshy knob at the end of the lower jaw!

The Sharpnose Lizardfish is grey-brown on the back, and silver to white on the sides and lower part of the body, with a series of 8 or 9 dark blotches along the lateral line.

The body is elongated, being 6.6 to 8.5 times longer than it is wide.

The Sharpnose Lizardfish has large eyes, with a prominent line that extends through them, and a large mouth that reaches well past the eye. The anal fin has 10 to 11 rays and has a shorter base than the dorsal fin base. The dorsal fin is closer to the adipose fin than the snout.

All of the fins are transparent with the exception being that the caudal fin has a black rim.

The Sharpnose Lizardfish initially appears quite similar to the California Lizardfish, Synodus lucioceps (dark brown with yellow pelvic fins), and the Reef Lizardfish, Synodus lacertinus (caudal and dorsal fins with prominent bars). The Sharpnose Lizardfish reaches a maximum length of 8 inches and is found between 100 and 850 feet deep in the water column over sandy bottoms adjacent to rocky reefs.

In Mexican waters, it is found along the Pacific side of Baja California Sur peninsula south of Guerrero Negro, 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 around the oceanic islands.

The Sharpnose Lizardfish is a member of the Synodontidae or Lizardfish Family.

Sharpnose Lizardfish, Synodus evermanni: Caught with Capt. Pata in the panga Salome, La Playita, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, early morning in February 2004, in 71-degree water, at a depth of 300 feet, utilizing a Sabiki rig, size 4, 20-pound test, about 5 miles southeast of La Playita. Size approximately 6 inches. Description and photo courtesy John Snow.