Saddleback Gunnel

The saddleback gunnel has between 74 and 79 spines in its dorsal fin and 2 spines and 35 to 38 soft rays in its anal fin. The caudal fin is rounded and it has tiny pelvic fin. The maximum published total length is 30 cm (12 in). There are 12 or 13 blackish-brown saddle markings along the back and light and dark streaks which radiate outwards from the eyes. The head's lateral system functions using a series of pores, including "two nasal, six suborbital, six postorbital, three occipital, four mandibular, and five preopercular." The dorsal fin is significantly long, on average reaching 86.2% of the fish's body length. The dorsal fin has short, thick spines and is significantly long, on average reaching 86.2% of the fish's body length. Preceding the thick short spines, the first four to six spines on the dorsal fin are thinner. At the beginning of the anal fin, two thick spines are present. Through webbing, the caudal fin is connected to both the dorsal and anal fins. The head is not covered in scales and scales are not present past postorbital canal and occipital commisura. The scales are set in an even order on the body. The body is red-brown speckled with gray colors. The dorsal fin has 11–16 thin white stripes in a vertical fashion. The anal fin is dotted with up to 14 light spots. Teeth on the bottom jaw often are greater in number than the upper jaw. …

The saddleback gunnel ranges from Vancouver Island in the north to Santa Barbara County, California in the south. It is found at depths of 0 to 50 m (0 to 164 ft) along the coast and in estuaries where it is found on muddy substrates among seaweeds and seagrass. They are rarely seen by divers because they spend most of the day in structures and are flighty, even at night. Additionally, Pholis ornata are intertidal and subtidal. P. ornata also resides in Hardy Bay and Brooks Peninsula by Vancouver Island. Throughout summers, P. ornata can be found in the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca. In these areas, P. ornata was recorded inhabiting eelgrass on beaches. Moving to the South, P. ornata's habitats range from Washington, Oregon, and California on the coasts. Saddleback gunnel also appears to have Canadian populations migrating to these areas during the cold winter months. Pholis ornata are commonly found in estuaries on the west coast of the U.S., including in the northeast Pacific West coast, and Yaquina Bay, Oregon, sharing community with other marine fishes that line near the shore such as the Pacific staghorn sculpin and rockfishes. In these estuaries, eelgrass beds are an important feature in Pholis ornata's habitat, acting as nurseries and living areas for the fish. …

Saddleback gunnel consume small harpacticoid copepods, which are small crustaceans that live underwater. Saddleback gunnel do not consume harpacticoid copepods that have grown too large for its mouth. Additionally, P. ornata's diet consists of mid-sized Macoma siphons and tanids and large gammarid amphipods. Prey size tends to correlate with the size of the saddleback gunnel. The larger the saddleback gunnel's body is, the larger the prey tends to be. It is observed that saddleback gunnel's stomachs are fuller in the midmorning, rather than at night, suggesting the fish tend to consume prey in the morning. Young saddleback gunnel tends to live in eelgrass, where harpacticoid is widely available for consumption. It is also important to note diets of P. ornata likely vary with each habitat and different resource availability. Between the rocky substrate, eelgrass beds, and seasonal coverage in Yaquina Bay, P. ornata shows a preference for eelgrass and vegetative coverage.