---
title: "Opalauge"
description: "Girella nigricans — Fische. Girella nigricans, commonly known as the opaleye or rudderfish, is a species of sea chub found in the Eastern Pacific, from California to southern Baja California."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/de/animal/opaleye
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Opalauge

> Girella nigricans — Fische. Girella nigricans, commonly known as the opaleye or rudderfish, is a species of sea chub found in the Eastern Pacific, from California to southern Baja California.

- Scientific name: *Girella nigricans*
- Category: `fish` (Fische)
- Habitats: `sea` (Meer & Küste)
- iNaturalist observations: 3151
- Wikidata: [Q3765321](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3765321)
- iNaturalist taxon: [81963](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/81963)

## Names

- en: Opaleye
- de: Opalauge
- es: Chopa verde
- fr: Calicagère verte

## Countries with the most observations

US (2919), MX (59)

## Summary

Girella nigricans, commonly known as the opaleye or rudderfish, is a species of sea chub found in the Eastern Pacific, from California to southern Baja California. A rarely documented isolated population also exists in the Gulf of California, which might be genetically different from the rest of the species. They are commonly found in shallow waters and intertidal zones, usually over rocks and kelp beds, at depths of 1 to 32 m (3.3 to 105.0 ft). They feed primarily on algae, but will occasionally consume sessile invertebrates (including crustaceans, worms, and molluscs). They are considered commercially important…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girella_nigricans

## Photo

![Opalauge](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/opaleye/medium.jpg)

Photo: Abby Benson · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/39020043

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/opaleye?lang=de` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).