Guide to Rockfishes (Scorpaenidae) of the Genera Sebastes, Sebastolobus, and Adelosebastes of the Northeast Pacific Ocean, Second Edition

Abstract

The rockfishes (family Scorpaenidae) of the northeast Pacific Ocean north of Mexico comprise five genera, three of which are included in this guide: Sebastes, Sebastolobus, and Adelosebastes. Sebastes includes some 100 species worldwide; 66, including one to be described, are presently recognized from the northeast Pacific. Sebastolobus (commonly known as the thornyheads) includes only three species worldwide; all three range into the northeast Pacific. The single species of Adelosebastes (the Aleutian scorpionfish, A. latens) is known only from the Aleutian Islands and Emperor Seamounts. Of the three genera treated here, Sebastes poses the most difficulties in identification, both because of the numbers of species and because of their morphological similarity and variability. This second edition contains 21 additional photographs that were not available when this guide was first published and now includes color images of 68 species photographed under natural and electronic flash conditions in the field. Most specimens were photographed immediately after collection; 12 species photographed underwater are also included in a separate section. The two species represented only by line drawings (Sebastes rufinanus and S. melanosema) are known only from the type series. Drawings of these species were produced from published photographs of the types.


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