---
title: "Plainfin Midshipman"
description: "Porichthys notatus — Peixes. The plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus) is a species of bottom-dwelling batrachoid toadfish."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/plainfin-midshipman
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Plainfin Midshipman

> Porichthys notatus — Peixes. The plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus) is a species of bottom-dwelling batrachoid toadfish.

- Scientific name: *Porichthys notatus*
- Category: `fish` (Peixes)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mar e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 1876
- Wikidata: [Q2006776](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2006776)
- iNaturalist taxon: [60021](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/60021)

## Names

- en: Plainfin Midshipman
- de: Nördlicher Bootsmannfisch
- es: Sapo de aleta lucia
- fr: Crapaud à nageoire unie

## Countries with the most observations

US (923), CA (769), MX (10)

## Summary

The plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus) is a species of bottom-dwelling batrachoid toadfish. It is a member of the midshipman genus, Porichthys, the only batrachoid fishes that have photophores. It is native to the North American coast of the Pacific Ocean, where its distribution extends along the coast from Sitka, Alaska, to Magdalena Bay in southern Baja California. There it inhabits shallow waters and will make migrations every spring to the rocky intertidal zones of the coast to breed.
The "midshipman" name comes from the line of photophores found on their body; they are positioned similarly to the uniforms…

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

## Photo

![Plainfin Midshipman](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/plainfin-midshipman/medium.jpg)

Photo: Alex Heyman · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/71998053

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/plainfin-midshipman?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).