''Sebastes hopkinsi'', the squarespot rockfish, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

belonging to the subfamily

Sebastinae Sebastinae is a subfamily of marine fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include rockfishes, rock perches, ocean perches, sea perches, thornyheads, scorpionfishes, sea ruffes and rockcods. De ...

, the rockfishes, part of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Scorpaenidae The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venom ...

. This species is found in the Eastern Pacific.

Taxonomy

''Sebastes hopkinsi'' was first formally described in 1895 as ''Sebastodes hopkinsi'' by the American

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Frank Cramer Frank Cramer (b. Wausau, Wisconsin November 4, 1861, d. Santa Clara County, California January, 30 1948) was an American writer, biologist and educator. Cramer was born on November 4, 1861 in Wausau, Wisconsin. He attended Lawrence College in Appl ...

with the type locality given as

Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The population at the 2020 census was 15,090. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey. Pacific Grove has numerous Victorian-era houses, so ...

. Some authorities classify this species in the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Acutomentum''.

Etymology

The specific name honours the founder of the

Hopkins Marine Station Hopkins Marine Station is the marine laboratory of Stanford University. It is located ninety miles south of the university's main campus, in Pacific Grove, California (United States) on the Monterey Peninsula, adjacent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. ...

, where Cramer undertook his zoological research, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Timothy Hopkins Timothy Hopkins (1859 – 1 January 1936) was the adopted son of Central Pacific Railroad co-owner Mark Hopkins Jr., Mark Hopkins' widow, Mary Hopkins Searles, Mary Hopkins, and friend of another co-owner Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Sta ...

Description

''Sebastes hopkinsi'' has a scaly body which is oval-shaped and which has a depth equivalent to around a third, or slightly more, of its

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

. This species does not have the spines in the head borne by most rockfish species. Its overall colour is tellowish brown or tan with indistinct saddle marks on the upper body and head. Sometimes there is dark sideways chevron on their operculum to the rear of the eyes, however, this frequently fades after collection as the fish becomes a uniform colour. An important identification feature is a dark line on the upper lip like a moustache. The fins are dark with the anal and pelvic fins being paler and the weakly lunate caudal fin being the darkest. They have a moderately long head with comparatively small eyes and a small terminally located mouth. The dorsal fin has 12–13 spines and 13–17 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 6–8 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of .

Distribution and habitat

''Sebastess hopkinsi'' is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from San Quintin, Baja California north to the

Farallon Islands The Farallon Islands, or Farallones (from the Spanish ''farallón'' meaning "pillar" or "sea cliff"), are a group of islands and sea stacks in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States. The island ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, although it is scarce north on

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by a ...

. This species is found on shallow reefs at depths between .

Biology

''Sebastes hopkinsi'' is a diurnal,

schooling A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

fish which rests under cover at night. They feed mainly on invertebrates such as

krill Krill are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in n ...

copepods Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthic (living on the ocean floor), a number of species have p ...

and

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

. Like other rock fishes this species is

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5028971 hopkinsi Taxa named by Frank Cramer Fish described in 1895