Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Scorpaeniformes
(Scorpionfishes and flatheads) > Sebastidae
(Rockfishes, rockcods and thornyheads) > Sebastinae
Etymology: Sebastes: Greek, sebastes = august, venerable (Ref. 45335); pinniger: From the Latin pinna and gero, connoting 'fin' and 'to bear' (Ref. 27436).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; demersal; depth range 0 - 838 m (Ref. 55644), usually 90 - 270 m (Ref. 36715). Subtropical; 65°N - 31°N
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 44.0, range 27 - 54 cm
Max length : 76.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3496); max. published weight: 4.5 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 84 years (Ref. 39247)
soft rays: 7. Head spines strong to moderate - nasal, preocular, supraocular, postocular, tympanic and parietal spines present, coronal and nuchal spines absent (Ref. 27437). Scales on lower jaw embedded; anal fin with a strong anterior slant (Ref. 27437). Caudal fin strongly indented (Ref. 6885). Bright yellow to orange mottled on a gray background; 3 orange stripes across head; fins orange; specimens less than 35.56 cm with dark markings on posterior part of spinous dorsal; gray along lateral line (Ref. 27437).
Eastern Pacific: south of the Shelikof Strait in the Gulf of Alaska to Cape Colnett, Baja California, Mexico.
Adults hover in loose groups above rocky bottoms (Ref. 27436). Pelagic juveniles are found in shallower water (Ref. 27436). Feed on small fishes and krill (Ref. 2850). Viviparous, with planktonic larvae (Ref. 36715). Validated age by radiometry is 44 yrs (Ref. 49687). Flesh is of good quality (Ref. 27436). Sold as fillets (Ref. 27436).
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 336 p.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
CollaboratorsPicturesStamps, CoinsSoundsCiguateraSpeedSwim. typeGill areaOtolithsBrainsVision
Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.8 ±0.61 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=7; tmax=84; Musick et al. 2000 (Ref. 36717
); Fec=85,000 (annual fecundity)).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): High vulnerability (62 of 100) .