Garibaldi (fish)

Garibaldi

Scientific classification
<tr valign=top><td>Kingdom:</td><td>Animalia
</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Phylum:</td><td>Chordata
</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Class:</td><td>Osteichthyes
</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Order:</td><td>Perciformes
</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Family:</td><td>Pomacentridae
</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Genus:</td><td>Hypsypops
</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>Species:</td><td>H. rubicundus
</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink"><th></th></tr><tr style="text-align:center;"><td>Hypsypops rubicundus
</small>(Girard, 1854)</td></tr>

The garibaldi or garibaldi damselfish (Hypsypops rubicundus) is a fish of the damselfish family that is native to the northern subtropical parts of the Pacific Ocean, ranging from Monterey Bay to Guadalupe Island, Baja California.

Garibaldis are renowned for their brilliant orange color and grow up to 35 centimetres in length. They live at depths of up to 30 metres, usually in association with reefs and typically over rocky sea-bottoms. They feed mainly on invertebrates that they remove from the rocks. Adult garibaldis maintain a home territory. The male clears a sheltered nest site within his territory, and the female then deposits eggs within the nest. The male subsequently guards the nest until the eggs hatch.

The garibaldi is the official "marine fish" of the state of California and has a protected status in California coastal waters.

They are commonly seen around Catalina Island.

A garibaldi fish in a kelp forest

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