Main identification features
- head: short, wide, blunt
- pectorals: angular tips
- top dark brown;below pale , dark edges
Disc rhomboidal, wider than long; pectorals distinctly pointed, concave at rear, continue onto rostrum; head blunt, raised, broad, projecting well before disc; pectoral fin continues onto rostrum; eyes and spiracles on side of head; tail slender, about as long as disc, no tail fin, with 1 large spine at its base after the small dorsal fin; teeth in 7 series of flat, pavement-like plates; very similar to M. californicus, but M. peruvianus is smaller, has more pointed pectoral tips, and has the dorsal fin origin further back on the tail (2X vs 1X the length of the dorsal base after the pelvic base).
Dark brown above, belly white grading to brown on pectorals and pelvics.
Size: 67 cm wide; 100 cm long.
Habitat: soft bottoms, coastal.
Depth: 1-50 m.
Ecuador to Chile, the Galapagos.
Attributes
Abundance: Common.
Cites: Not listed.
Climate Zone: Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo); South Temperate (Peruvian Province ).
Depth Range Max: 50 m.
Depth Range Min: 1 m.
Diet: octopus/squid/cuttlefish; mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves; sea-stars/cucumbers/urchins; mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs); mobile benthic worms.
Eastern Pacific Range: Northern limit=2; Southern limit=-17; Western limit=-93; Eastern limit=-71; Latitudinal range=19; Longitudinal range=22.
Egg Type: Live birth; No pelagic larva; No pelagic phase.
Feeding Group: Carnivore.
FishBase Habitat: Bentho-Pelagic.
Global Endemism: TEP non-endemic; East Pacific endemic; All species.
Habitat: Mud; Sand & gravel; Soft bottom (mud, sand,gravel, beach, estuary & mangrove); Soft bottom only.
Inshore Offshore: Inshore; Inshore Only.
IUCN Red List: Not evaluated / Listed.
Length Max: 67 cm.
Regional Endemism: Island (s); Continent; Temperate Eastern Pacific, primarily; Continent + Island (s); Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic; Peruvian province, primarily; All species.
Residency: Vagrant.
Salinity: Marine; Marine Only.
Water Column Position: Bottom; Near Bottom; Bottom + water column;
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