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Species: Sebastes cortezi, Cortez rockfish

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

top head 6-7 pairs strong spines, 0 over center eye
pink; gut lining v dark
gill chamber slightly dark
D ~12
scales rough
above front mouth: 2 spines, 1st points forwards
LL 33-45

Sebastes cortezi (Beebe & Tee-Van, 1938)

Cortez rockfish

Body compressed, oval; head relatively large, compressed, blunt; eye large; head spines moderate sized, strong; top of head with 6 pairs of spines, & sometimes a pair on nape, absent over center of eye; lower edge of bone below eye & above front side of mouth with 2 down-pointing spines, not pointing to rear, front spine projects forwards; no spiny longitudinal ridge under eye; lower jaw with inconspicuous knob at front; numerous small conical teeth on jaws; teeth present on roof of mouth; gill rakers 26-31; a single dorsal fin, usually strongly notched at the rear of the spiny part, XIII (XII-XIII) strong, venomous spines, 4th-5th spines longest,12 (11-12) soft rays; anal fin III, spines long, strong, 2nd spine longest, 6 (5-6); pelvics I, 5, under pectorals; pectorals large, 18 (17-19); tail fin  slightly concave; lateral line with 33-45 pored scales, last one on base of tail fin; scales small, primarily rough.

Adults pink, with dusky traces; inside mouth and gill chamber slightly dusky; lining of gut cavity very dark.

Reaches 31 cm.

Lives on soft bottoms.

Depth range: 200-1100 m.

The central Gulf of California.   

Note: We have not included S. peduncularis and S. varispinnis, both of which are known only from a very few juveniles, and could be synonyms of S. cortezi and S. diploproa, respectively.


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Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Offshore
  • In & Offshore
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
  • Bottom only
Habitat
  • Soft bottom only
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Mud
FishBase Habitat
  • Bathydemersal
Feeding Group
  • No Data
  • Carnivore
Diet
  • Zooplankton
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • No Data
  • Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
Egg Type
  • Pelagic larva
  • Live birth
Global Endemism
  • Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
  • East Pacific endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Cortez province endemic
  • Continent
  • Continental TEP endemic
  • TEP endemic
  • Continent only
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 31
Depth Range Min
  • 200
Depth Range Max
  • 1100