Mexican Hogfish: The Reef's Big Color-Shifter

Few reef fish change as dramatically through life as the Mexican hogfish — small and striped as youngsters, big and bump-headed as old males. Here's how to spot it near Jacó, plus five fun facts.

Mexican Hogfish · Bodianus diplotaenia

How to spot the mexican hogfish near Jacó

Look over rocky reef and boulder slopes, where Mexican hogfish cruise along flicking their pectoral fins like oars. Big males are deep-bodied and rosy with a dark band and a bump on the forehead; females and young are paler with stripes. They move in an easy, rowing sort of swim.

5 fun facts about the mexican hogfish

• Rows with its fins. Like all wrasses, it swims mainly by flapping its pectoral fins, giving it a distinctive gentle, rowing motion.
• Changes color with age. Juveniles, females and big males all look so different they were once mistaken for separate species.
• Grows a forehead bump. Old dominant males develop a swollen forehead and trailing fin filaments, a badge of their status.
• Cleaner when young. Juveniles often pick parasites off larger fish, running little cleaning stations on the reef.
• An Eastern Pacific native. It lives along the Pacific coast of the Americas, one of the region's largest and most familiar wrasses.

The mexican hogfish is just one of many characters down there. See the whole cast in our Snorkel Jaco fish directory, or read real guest photos and reviews on the Snorkel Jaco reviews.