Rougheye Rockfish
Sebastes aleutianus
Marine Life of the Northeast Pacific (MLNEP) notes 3
The Blackspotted-Rougheye rockfish complex
Large, schooling fish. Often swimming above seafloor. Colors varying a lot, although many do have tiny black spots. Thinner than the blackgill rockfish.
From "The Cobb Seamount Species Inventory" (Du Preez et al. 2015): There is a history of confusing and misidentifying blackspotted rockfish and rougheye rockfish owing to similar geographic distributions, depth ranges, and morphologies (Orr & Hawkins 2008; Love et al. 2002; Butler et al. 2012). There is also evidence of hybridization between the two species (Orr & Hawkins 2008). It is particularly difficult to identify individuals underwater.
Blackspotted rockfish (Sebastes melanostictus)
Rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus)
Summary 4
The rougheye rockfish is a rockfish of the genus Sebastes. It grows up to 97 cm (38 in) in length, with the IGFA record weight being 14 lb 12 oz (6.7 kg). Similar to many other members of its genus, it is extremely long-lived, and has been known to reach an age of 205 years.
Description 4
The rougheye rockfish is so-named because of the ten or so spines found on the lower eyelid. It is pink, tan or brownish with irregular patches of brown of darker color and often a darker patch at the back of the operculum. The posterior part of the lateral line is often pink. An average adult size is about 80 cm (31 in).
Distribution and habitat 4
Rougheye rockfish are deepwater fish, and exist between 31° and 66°latitude, in the North Pacific, and specifically along the coast of Japan to the Navarin Canyon in the Bering Sea, to the Aleutian Islands, all the way south to San Diego, California. It is found between 150 and 450 m (492 and 1,476 ft), with larger fish living in deeper water than smaller ones. The temperature at these depths range from 31.4 to 41 °F (−0.3 to 5.0 °C). These fish live near the seabed over boulders and rocks surrounded by soft substrates and in caves and crevices.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Jennifer Long, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jennifer Long
- (c) Dr Cherisse Du Preez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dr Cherisse Du Preez
- Adapted by Merlin Best from a work by (c) Dr Cherisse Du Preez, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/986566
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/986566
