Many saltwater fish have names starting with the letter ‘S.’
The list is almost endless because scientists continue to discover new species while they study nature. So…
Given below are 104 well-known fish species that have names starting with the letter “S.”
1. Sabertooth Fish
Sabertooth fish are small-sized fish that inhabit the subtropical and tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans.
Sabertooth fish have long, slender, and slightly flattened body shape without any scales.
Their flexible stomach allows them to swallow prey that is larger than themselves.
Their curved teeth prevent the captured prey from backing up and push it down their throat.
2. Salmon Shark
The salmon shark is a species of mackerel shark that inhabits the coastal and open waters of the North Pacific Ocean.
Adults have gray to black color over most of their bodies, with a light gray or white bottom with blotches.
Young salmon sharks have similar colors, but they don’t have blotches.
These carnivores are apex predators that feed on herrings, salmon, sablefish, and squid.
3. Sand Goby
The sand goby, also known as pollybait, is a ray-finned fish.
They’re commonly found in the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea.
Their general color is sandy brown with distinct dark blotches and reticular markings on the dorsal surface and darker stripes on the pale fins.
They mainly feed on tiny invertebrates like amphipods found at the bottom of the sea.
They remain well hidden and motionless at the bottom until an unsuspecting prey comes near them.
4. Sarcastic Fringehead
Sarcastic fringehead fish are hardies known for their aggressive behavior.
These fish inhabit the waters off the coast of North America.
The sarcastic fringehead fish have brown color bodies. They have long, slender, and elegant bodies that are mostly scaleless.
Female sarcastic fringehead fish prefer males who have the best houses.
Males compete intensely for females, which may explain why they have evolved to have huge mouths.
These fish mainly feed on small crustaceans found at the bottom of the sea.
5. Scup
The scup, also known as porgy, is a marine fish commonly found in the Atlantic Ocean in the waters from Massachusetts to South Carolina in the United States of America.
Scup fish have deep bodies with dusky brown color and bright silver reflections underneath.
The fins of adult scup fish are mottled with dark brown color.
These fish forage at the bottom of the ocean floor, nibbling on small invertebrates.
6. Sea Chub
Sea chubs are primarily found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans.
They usually inhabit the shallow part of the sea near the shore.
They’re medium-sized fish with rounded bodies, blunt mouths, and rough skin.
Sea chubs are both herbivorous and carnivorous.
The herbivores mainly feed on algae, and carnivores feed on benthic invertebrates like clams, worms, and crustaceans living at the bottom of the sea.
7. Sergeant Major
The sergeant major fish is a species of damselfish. It inhabits the coral reefs and tide pools throughout the Atlantic Ocean.
This fish has a white body with a yellow top and five black vertical stripes. It may also have a faint sixth band on its tail fin.
The sergeant major fish are omnivores that feed on the larvae of invertebrates, crustaceans, zooplankton, small fish, and different species of algae.
8. Sheepshead Minnow
The sheepshead minnow is a ray-finned fish.
These fish mainly inhabit the salt marshes and harbors on the eastern coast of North and Central America.
This fish has olive green color on top and yellow at the bottom.
The young fish have irregular transverse dark bars that the females retain as they mature, while the males lose them.
Sheepshead minnows are omnivores eating both plant and animal matter.
They mainly eat detritus, microalgae, crustacean larvae, and other tiny invertebrates.
9. Silver Hake
The silver hake, also known as the New England hake or Atlantic hake, is found in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, along the eastern coast of Canada and the USA.
It has a long, slender body with a protruding lower jaw and two dorsal fins.
This fish is called “silver hake” because of its silver coloration.
The silver hake fish is a predatory fish that typically hunts and feeds on small fish and crustaceans.
10. Skipjack Tuna
Skipjack tuna is a medium-sized fish in the tuna family.
It’s a pelagic fish found in the warm waters of the tropical and temperate regions.
This fish has a torpedo-shaped body that is streamlined and muscular with a cone-shaped head.
It has a silver underside and turns greyish-black on its upper surface.
These fish live in large shoals and inhabit the water surface. They mainly feed on fish and invertebrates.
The skipjack tuna is an important prey for sharks and large pelagic fish.
11. Slickhead
The slickhead, also known as the smooth head, is a deep-water fish species.
They’re widely distributed throughout the Atlantic, Indian, and western Pacific oceans.
Slickheads are blackish-brown, soft, and have a herring-like shape.
These fish vary significantly in shape, and some possess light-emitting organs.
12. Smalleye Squaretail
The smalleye squaretail has a unique jaw, scalation, and body shape. It’s commonly found in most ocean waters.
It has a long, slender shape and a cross-section with small, ridged scales on its body.
Adults have a uniform dark brown to black color, while the young ones are grey on top and whitish on the underside.
The smalleye squaretail is a predatory fish that feeds on jellyfish and salps.
13. Smooth Dogfish
The smooth dogfish lives in the coastal waters of the Western Atlantic.
It migrates between the north and south waters within the northern part of its range.
Smooth dogfish are relatively small and slender with elongated, oval-shaped eyes.
This fish is usually olive grey or brown but maybe speckled with shades of yellow or greyish white.
These nocturnal predators feed primarily on crustaceans, mollusks, and polychaete worms.
They also eat razor clams, squid, small fish, and ocean garbage.
14. Sockeye Salmon
The sockeye salmon, also known as the sockeye or red salmon, inhabits the waters of the Northern Pacific Ocean and its tributaries.
Sockeye salmon have a silver color with a blue tinge while living in the ocean.
However, their body color changes to red, and their head turns green upon returning to the spawning grounds.
Unlike most other species of the Pacific salmons, sockeye fish feed extensively on zooplankton during their freshwater and saltwater life stages.
In contrast, young sockeye salmons eat insects as part of their diet.
15. Southern Flounder
The southern flounder, also known as flatfish, is a saltwater fish that lives in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Southern flounders are flat-shaped fish as they have evolved to lay on the sea floor effortlessly to hide and ambush prey.
These fish are carnivores. They consume small fish and invertebrates like crabs and shrimp.
16. Spanish Mackerel
The Spanish mackerel belongs to the Scombridae family.
They’re found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans.
The Spanish mackerel has a torpedo-shaped body, with short finlets before its tail fins.
These fish have silvery-colored scales with visible spots.
They move swiftly and aggressively through the water to catch their prey.
These fish primarily feed on small fish, squid, crustaceans, and anything that can be easily hunted.
17. Sprat
Sprats are marine fish species found in different parts of the world, including Australia, parts of Europe, and New Zealand.
They’ve silver-colored elongated bodies.
These are small-sized fish, but their average size varies depending on the sprat species they belong to.
Sprats have a selective diet and prefer eating zooplankton.
Unlike most fish species, the diet of young and adult sprats is the same because both depend on zooplankton for their nutrition.
18. Staghorn Sculpin
The staghorn sculpins are common in the shallow coastal waters of Alaska to Baja – California, along the Pacific coast.
Staghorn sculpins are slender fish with a gray-olive upper body, cream-colored sides, and a white belly.
These fish are commonly found in estuaries and coastal ecosystems, where they feed on invertebrates, mainly amphipods like the corophium.
19. Surfperch
The surfperch are marine fish that mainly inhabit the northeast Pacific Ocean.
They’ve compressed, oval-shaped bodies. These fish have a silver color.
Some species also have stripes or bars on their bodies, depending on the time of year.
These fish feed on invertebrates, including small crustaceans, gammarid amphipods, mollusks, fish eggs, and worms.
20. Sweeper
Sweepers are small, tropical marine fish that are mainly found in the warm waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Pacific region.
These fish are dark brown at the top, with copper shade on both sides.
They also have irregular vertical dark brown bars below their scales.
Sweepers are nocturnal fish that seek refuge in caves, crevices, and rocky shores during the day.
These fish forage the ocean floor at night to search for zooplankton, their primary food.
Other Saltwater Fish Beginning with S
- Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria),
- Sailfish (Istiophorus albicans),
- Salmon (Salmo salar),
- Sand Dab (Citharichthys sordidus),
- Sand Diver (Trichonotus filamentosus),
- Sand Lance (Ammodytes hexapterus),
- Sand Stargazer (Dactylagnus mundus),
- Sand Tiger Shark (Carcharias taurus),
- Sand Tilefish (Malacanthus latovittatus),
- Sandburrower (Tewara cranwellae),
- Sandfish (Trichodon trichodon),
- Sandperch (Parapercis hexophtalma),
- Sardine (Escualosa elongata),
- Sargassum Fish (Histrio histrio),
- Saury (Cololabis adocetus),
- Saw Shark (Pristiophorus cirratus),
- Sawfish (Pristis pristis),
- Sawtooth Eel (Serrivomer beanii),
- Scabbard Fish (Evoxymetopon taeniatus),
- Scaly Dragonfish (Stomias boa),
- Scat (Scatophagus argus),
- Scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis oxycephala),
- Sea Bass (Centropristis striata),
- Sea Bream (Diplodus vulgaris),
- Sea Catfish (Bagre marinus),
- Sea Devil (Ceratias holboelli),
- Sea Dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus),
- Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus),
- Sea Raven (Blepsias cirrhosus),
- Sea Snail (Elassodiscus tremebundus),
- Sea Toad (Chaunacops cf. melanostomus),
- Seahorse (Hippocampus sp.),
- Seamoth (Eurypegasus draconis),
- Searobin (Chelidonichthys spinosus),
- Sharksucker (Remora remora),
- Sharpnose Puffer (Canthigaster rostrata),
- Sheatfish (Silurus glanis),
- Shortnose Chimaera (Hydrolagus alberti),
- Shrimpfish (Aeoliscus strigatus),
- Sillago (Sillago parvisquamis),
- Sixgill Ray (Hexatrygon bickelli),
- Sixgill Shark (Hexanchus griseus),
- Skate (Amblyraja hyperborea),
- Skilfish (Erilepis zonifer),
- Sleeper Shark (Somniosus microcephalus),
- Slender Mola (Ranzania laevis),
- Slender Snipe Eel (Nemichthys scolopaceus),
- Slimehead (Gephyroberyx darwinii),
- Slimy Mackerel (Scomber australasicus),
- Slipmouth (Eubleekeria splendens),
- Smalltooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinata),
- Smelt-Whiting (Sillago japonica),
- Snake Eel (Myrichthys ocellatus),
- Snake Mackerel (Gempylus serpens),
- Snapper (Lutjanus sp.),
- Snipe Eel (Avocettina acuticeps),
- Snipefish (Macroramphosus gracilis),
- Snook (Centropomus undecimalis),
- Soldierfish (Myripristis jacobus),
- Sole (Solea solea),
- Southern Dolly Varden (Salvelinus curilus),
- Southern Hake (Merluccius australis),
- Southern Sandfish (Leptoscopus macropygus),
- Spadefish (Platax teira),
- Spaghetti Eel (Moringua javanica),
- Spearfish (Tetrapturus pfluegeri),
- Spiderfish (Ipnopidae family),
- Spikefish (Parahollardia lineata),
- Spinefoot (Siganus puellus),
- Spiny Basslet (Plesiops coeruleolineatus),
- Squaretail (Tetragonurus cuvieri),
- Squirrelfish (Holocentrus rufus),
- Stargazer (Kathetostoma laeve),
- Stingray (Myliobatiformes order.),
- Stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa),
- Stout Moray (Gymnothorax eurostus),
- Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis),
- Striped Burrfish (Chilomycterus schoepfi),
- Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus),
- Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus),
- Surf Sardine (Iso flosmaris),
- Surgeonfish (Acanthurus sohal),
- Swallower (Eurypharynx pelecanoides),
- Swordfish (Xiphias gladius).
Fun Fact: Here are some fish species that eat aiptasia and start with the letter “S.”
