The fourhorn poacher (Hypsagonus quadricornis), also known as the four-horned sea-poacher,[1] is a fish in the family Agonidae.[2] It was described by Achille Valenciennes in 1829, originally under the genus Aspidophorus (now Agonus).[3] It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling fish which is known from the northern Pacific Ocean, including the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, the Bering Sea, the Kuril Islands, and Washington, USA. It is non-migratory, and dwells at a depth range of 0mto452mm (00feetto1,483feetm), most often at around 100mto150mm (300feetto490feetm). It inhabits sediments of sand and gravel. Males can reach a maximum total length of 12cm (05inches), but more commonly reach a TL of 10cm (00inches). The maximum recorded weight is 24g, and the maximum recorded age is 7 years.[2]
The fourhorn poacher is preyed on by Hippoglossus stenolepis.[4] Its own diet consists of crustaceans including shrimp, crabs, isopods, amphipods, and ostracods, as well as bony fish, gastropods, and polychaetes.[5]