''Sebastes miniatus'', the vermilion rockfish, vermilion seaperch, red snapper, red rock cod, and rasher, 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, 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 ...

. It is native to the waters of the Pacific Ocean off western North America from

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Taxonomy

''Sebastes miniatus'' was first formally described in 1880 by the American ichthyologists

David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...

and

Charles Henry Gilbert Charles Henry Gilbert (December 5, 1859 in Rockford, Illinois – April 20, 1928 in Palo Alto, California) was a pioneer ichthyologist and Fisheries science, fishery biologist of particular significance to natural history of the western Unit ...

with the type locality given as Santa Barbara and

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

. Some authorities place 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 ...

''Rosicola''. The specific name ''miniatus'' means "bright red" or "scarlet" a reference to the color of the vermilion fins and body.

Description

''Sebastes miniatus'' has a rather stocky body shape with the depth of the body being equivalent to just under two fifths 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 ...

. It has moderately robust to weak spines on its head, the nasal, preocular, supraocular, postocular, tympanic and parietal spines being always present, the nuchal spine usually being absent and the coronal spine never being present. The dorsal fin is continuous with a deep notch separating the spiny and soft rayed parts with the spiny part has a longer base than the soft rayed part with deep incisions on the membranes between the spines. There are 13 spines and 13 to 15 soft rays in the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

while the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has 3 spines and 7 soft rays. The lower jaw is rough with large scales. It has deep caudal peduncle and the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has a slight fork. This species attains a maximum

total 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 ...

of and a maximum published weight of . The color of this species varies from dark red to vermilion with gray or black spotting on the back and flanks. Smaller fishes may have a more mottled pattern than larger fishes. The mouth is red mouth and the red fins are frequently have black margins, again more typical in smaller fishes. Larger individuals show indistinct dark markings on the head and back. There are three indistinct yellow or orange stripes radiating from the eyes. The posterior two thirds of the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

has a silvery color.

Distribution and habitat

''Sebastes miniatus'' occurs in the eastern Pacific from San Quintin, Baja California in Mexico north to

Prince William Sound Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Tr ...

. It is found in and around rocky reefs at depth from .

Biology

''Sebastes miniatus'' may be found in aggregations, in small schools or pairs or even as solitary fish. It is thought that this species can be nomadic and move between reefs. The spines of the dorsal and anal fins have glands in them that can produce a mild venom which may cause painful wounds if they break the skin. The vermilion rockfish is, like other rockfishes,

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 ...

, the females give birth to live young and are sexually mature from 4-7 years of age and a length of about . The females extrude the larvae from September to December. The largest females may hold up to 1,600,000 eggs, which hatch internally and the larvae are extruded. The larvae are translucent at first, spending several months offshore among the plankton feeding on zooplankton and gaining color. From the start of February they move inshore and settle. The adults feed almost exclusively on fishes,

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

es and krill.

Fisheries

''Sebastes miniatus'' is targeted by commercial fisheries and is a major component of the landings of rockfish, frequently caught by

trawling Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different speci ...

in deep water as well as by hook and line and gill nets. In California it tends to be caught as bycatch when fishers are targeting

bocaccio rockfish The bocaccio rockfish (''Sebastes paucispinis'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae, It is found in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy The bocaccio ...

(''S. paucispinis''). It is also an important species in recreational fishing and is the third most frequently caught rockfish species by recreational fisheries off California, and the seventh most landed species overall.

References

*This article was originally copied from http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/mspcont4.asp#Vermilion California Marine Sportfish] by the California Department of Fish and Game, Marine Region;
public domain resource.

External links

*

Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert Fish described in 1880