Genus: Sebastes, Rockfishes

SEBASTES

ROCKFISHES

Body variable, elongate to deep, moderately to strongly compressed; head relatively large; eye large to small; head spines range from absent, to small & weak to strong; top of head with 0-8 pairs of spines; no spiny longitudinal ridge under eye; numerous small conical teeth on jaws; teeth present on roof of mouth; a single dorsal fin, usually strongly notched at the rear of the spiny part, XII-XV strong, venomous spines, 9-16 soft rays; anal fin II-IV, 6-11; pelvics I, 5, under pectorals; pectorals large, 14-22, rounded or pointed, longest rays in center; tail fin straight to slightly concave; lateral line with pored or tubed scales; scales small, rough.

A genus of north and south temperate Pacific and Atlantic with ~124 species; five in our area. 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.