A remarkable spawning event along the coast of California and northern Baja California in which California grunion, small silvery fish, ride the highest waves of certain spring and summer nights fully onto the beach to spawn in the wet sand, timed precisely to the several nights following a full or new moon's highest tides. The female buries her tail and lays her eggs while the male curls around her to fertilize them, and both fish then ride the next wave back out to sea, all within a window of minutes before the tide recedes further and strands them.
Facts
Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceLong, slender fish with a deeply forked tail, greenish above and silvery below, blue cheek patch and silvery-blue lateral stripe 1 PeriodicityBetween about March and August, on the second, third and fourth nights following the full moon 1 Sources
1. California grunion, Wikipedia
Reproduction section
Breeding takes place between about March and August and happens on the second, third and fourth nights following the full moon.
Description section
It is greenish above and silvery below. There is a blue patch on the cheek and a silvery-blue lateral stripe along the side.
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