Common names: sea-chub (English), chopa (Espanol)
 
Sectator ocyurus (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882)


Bluestriped sea-chub,     Rainbow sea-chub



Body an elongate oval, compressed; upper and lower head profiles convex; snout short; mouth very short, horizontal and opens at the front; the top jawbone slips partially under the under-eye bone when the mouth is closed; teeth small, include immovable incisors with flattened tips; teeth on center of roof of mouth; dorsal fin continuous, XI, 13, spines that fold down into a scaly groove; anal fin III, 14; dorsal & anal fins low; tail fin deeply forked; paired fins are relatively short; origin of the pelvics behind the base of the pectoral fin; scales small, thick and rough, covering the body, head (except snout) and soft portions of the median fins; 75-80 scales along mid-side.


Silvery olive on back, white on lower parts; a broad bright blue midlateral stripe with yellow stripe immediately below, and blue band along base of dorsal fin; tail fin bright yellow.


Size: reaches about 70 cm.

Habitat: most common around offshore islands, also frequently seen near floating logs far out to sea.

Depth: 0-30 m.

From southern California to Peru (excluding the bulk of the Gulf of California) and all the oceanic islands. Occasional specimens have also reached Tahiti and Hawaii, and there is a resident population in the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia.