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The copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinis) was first taken off Sitka, Alaska (the northwestern part of North America) which influenced the origin of its Latin name, caurus, meaning "northwest wind". This species is also called whitebelly, chucklehead, white gopher, fighting bob, never dies, rock cod, and sailfin rockfish, among other names. Coppers have pronounced spines and deep (back-to-belly) bodies. The rear two-thirds of their lateral line contains a constant light-colored strip which noticeable underwater. This light-coloring helps to distinguish the coppers from the similar gopher and quillback rockfishes. The coppers are commonly olive, or dark brown and copper pink in color. Off California they are often bright red, while some coppers in northern areas can be almost entirely black. A wide range of blotchy colors are exhibited in older species. Several bars of brown, yellow, or copper orange extend back from the eyes. The range for coppers extends from the northern Gulf of Alaska to
central Baja California and they are commonly found between Port Valdez (Gulf
of Alaska) and Punta Banda (northern Baja California). They are a common
shallow-water species in Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia (British
Columbia). Coppers live in depths ranging from barely subtidal to 600
ft. (183 m). In California they are most often found to shallower depths
of 297 ft. (90 m). Newly spawned coppers begin settling near the surface around
large algae canopies or eelgrass, when available, or closer to
the bottom, when lacking canopies. They can also be found around some oil
platforms in midwater. Young coppers move to deeper water
within a few months and are often seen over sand, low rocks, or
reef-sand interface where they mix with drift algae. Older coppers usually exist
over large rocks and boulder fields, in addition to lower-relief rocky
terrain. They are both solitary and found in groups, often with several
other species of rockfishes, depending on habitat and geographic area.
Coppers are occasionally seen living in the dens of the giant Pacific octopus,
Octopus dofleini.
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