China rockfish

The China rockfish (Sebastes nebulosus), the yellowstripe rockfish or yellowspotted rockfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. It is native to the waters of the Pacific Ocean off western North America. Taxonomy The China rockfish was first formally described in 1854 by the American zoologist William Orville Ayres with the type locality given as Santa Barbara and Monterey, California. Some authorities place this species in the subgenus Pteropodus. The specific name nebulosus means "cloudy" a reference to the yellow body mottled with dark brown. The species was actually described by both Ayres and Girard in the same year, with Girard naming the species S. fasciatus, but it was thought that that name had already been used for the Acadian redfish by David Humphreys Storer and thus Ayres' choice prevailed. Description The China rockfish has a compact body with a small mouth. They have a concave intraorbital space and robust spines on the head but there are none above the eyes. The dorsal fin has deeply incised membranes between its long spines, there are 13 spines and 13 or 14 soft rays in the dorsal fin while the anal fin has 3 spines and 6 to 8 soft rays. Their caudal fin is rounded. This species attains a maximum total length of and a maximum published weight of . The overall color may be blue or black, marked with yellow mottling which is mixed with some white mottling. The main distinguishing feature of this species is the clear yellow stripe which starts on the dorsal fin near the third dorsal fin spine and extends obliquely to the lateral line then runs along that line to make a shape like an ice hockey stick. The pelvic, anal and caudal fins are dark colored. Distribution and habitat The China rockfish is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the western coast of North America from Kodiak Island in Alaska to Redondo Beach and San Nicholas Island in California. It is at its most common from central British Columbia south to central California. It is associated with reefs at depths between but it is typically found in water less than deep.