anatomical quiz #1
 

Which common ocean fish carries these bones? Size is ¾ inch.
:leaving:
Maybe too tough for fishermen... Are there any ichthyologists around here?
Answer coming by the end of the week.

Is it cheek bone of halibut?

well...at ¾ inch size, got to be a hell of a halibut :rolleyes:
Nope - n̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶l̶i̶b̶u̶t̶

something from the head of a spotfin croaker

Appears to be an eye socket.

Hmmmm...

Sheep's head is my guess...

My guess is WSB. Was definitely a guess, before I logged in and saw the picture.

Providing it is a fish caught in California, it cannot be sheep's head.

Since the sheepshead [with (s)] is from Atlantic ocean.

However, sheephead [no (s)] is a possibility.

💡 hint: the fish is around 16 inch long. Bones are obviously from the head, but not eye sockets. It's not a beach/surf type of fish like croaker, corbina, perch. And none of the guesses above ...

Barracuda otoliths🤞🏻

Cabezon or Sculpin

turd roller gill plates

Sculpin

Vermilion jaw

Answer
 

and the mystery fish is ... CALICO BASS.
Found the bones after steaming the heads in a pressure cooker, preparing fish soup. Amazing how many intricate little bones are hiding under the helmet. 🦴🦴🦴

guess I was closest ;)

did you know what part of the calico head they came from exactly? I guess somebody could dissect one!