Panamic Porkfish: The Reef's Striped Showoff

With two black bars across a silver face and a body striped in yellow, the Panamic porkfish is one of the most photogenic fish on the reef. Here's how to spot it near Jacó, plus five fun facts.

Panamic Porkfish · Anisotremus taeniatus

How to spot the panamic porkfish near Jacó

Look near rocky ledges and reef corners, where porkfish gather in loose, slow-moving groups. The two bold black bars on the head and the yellow body stripes make them unmistakable. They're relatively calm and often let snorkelers drift fairly close.

5 fun facts about the panamic porkfish

• A grunt, not a pork chop. Despite the name, the porkfish is a type of grunt — named for the pig-like grunting sound it can make.
• Those grunts come from its throat. Grunts make sound by grinding teeth deep in the throat, amplified by the swim bladder like a tiny drum.
• Cleaning-station kids. Young porkfish sometimes act as cleaners, picking parasites off larger fish.
• Day-and-night shift change. They rest in groups near the reef by day and spread out over sand and rubble to feed at night.
• An Eastern Pacific beauty. This species belongs to the tropical Eastern Pacific, a close cousin of the Caribbean porkfish.

The panamic porkfish 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.