Two Californian Pomacentrids — LlMBAUGH 
43 
at depths of 90 ft, depending upon the clarity 
of the water and the depth of the thermocline. 
They generally remain above the thermocline, 
where most of the population is concentrated 
between 4 and 42 ft. When the water is dirty 
they remain closer to their rocky retreats. 
Juveniles may be found in tide pools and to 
depths of 40 ft. 
Life History 
They were present throughout the year in all 
regions noted in Table 1, and individuals prob- 
ably remain in a restricted territory during most 
of their lives. Each fish roams a rather large 
territory, but there are definite concentrations 
of individuals in certain areas, possibly depend- 
ing upon whether or not the environment is 
favorable. In some cases, these groups may use 
the same crevices for cover. The individuals in a 
group were never observed fighting, but tagged 
fish introduced from other regions were quickly 
driven away. 
Garibaldis defend their territories vigorously, 
reluctantly retreating from a diver to their rock 
holes only when directly approached. They gen- 
erally wait at the entrance if they are not pur- 
sued ( Fig. 3 ) . If they are further molested, they 
will enter the hole and either leave by another 
opening or wedge themselves into a crevice. 
They may be taken by hand at this time but at 
the risk of lacerated hands and arms. Disturbed 
garibaldis generally emit thumping sounds easily 
heard by a diver. 
Fig. 2. A young Hypsypops rubicunda showing a 
pattern of spots somewhat different from the juveniles 
in Figure 1. 
TABLE 1 
Distribution of Adult and Juvenile 
Hypsypops rubicunda 
AREAS 
(NORTH TO SOUTH) 
ADULTS 
JUVENILES 
Mainland 
Naples 
+ 
Point Du me 
+ 
Malibu 
+ 
+ 
Rocky Cove 
+ 
+ 
Palos Verdes Cove 
+ 
+ 
Long Point 
+ 
+ 
Newport Beach 
+ 
+ 
Laguna Beach 
+ 
+ 
Dana Point 
+ 
+ 
Solana Beach 
+ 
+ 
Del Mar 
+ 
+ 
La Jolla 
+ 
+ 
Point Loma 
+ 
+ 
Ensenada 
+ 
+ 
Santa Tomas 
+ 
Bahia San Carlos 
+ 
Punta Blanca 
+ 
Bahia Playa Maria 
+ 
Punta San Rosarito 
+ 
Islands 
Santa Cruz 
+ 
Santa Catalina 
+ 
+ 
San Clemente 
+ 
+ 
Coronados 
+ 
+ 
San Benito 
+ 
San Martin 
+ 
The breeding season seems to be continuous 
throughout the spring and summer. It may begin 
as early as March and persist through July, last- 
ing longer in warm years and in the southern 
portions of their range. There may be no spawn- 
ing season in the northern part of the adult 
distribution. 
All signs of blue are lost in mature adults; 
the faintest trace of blue is an indication of 
immaturity. There are slight color and size dif- 
ferences between sexes: males tend to be more 
reddish (red-orange) and are slightly larger 
than the females in a given area. No evidence is 
available to determine if the color difference is 
seasonal. 
The male prepares a nest by cleaning a rocky 
surface of all but the strongly adherent calcareous 
organisms. In the center of the cleared area he 
cultivates an elliptical patch of velvety red algae. 
Plant material taken from nests off La Jolla, 
