Sakuma and Laidig: A description of larval and pelagic Sebastes goodei 



729 



E 

 3 '5 



C 12 



Standard Length (mm) 



Figure 2 



Comparison of standard length versus extrusion check ra- 

 dius between chilipepper, Sebastes goodei, and other 

 Sebastes spp. 



(4.5 to 5.7 mm NL) larvae. In comparison to the other 

 Sebastes spp., S. goodei was significantly larger at 

 any given age f ANCOVA, df=l, 99, P=0.0001)(Fig. 4). 



Discussion 



The ability to identify larval and juvenile S. goodei 

 can potentially lead to future studies on the spatial 

 and temporal extent of spawning and the estimation 

 of larval production biomass for this species based 



on larvae and juveniles collected in standard plank- 

 ton studies (Moser and Butler, 1987; Ralston et al. 3 ). 

 Preflexion S. goodei larvae can be distinguished from 

 other Sebastes spp. off central California by the pres- 

 ence of pigment on the cranium and nape (evident 

 even in pre-extrusion larvae), and by the absence of 

 pigment on the dorsal midline surface, the tip of the 

 lower jaw, the caudal area, and the cleithral region 

 (Fig. 1, A and B). In general, extrusion and pre-ex- 

 trusion larvae of other Sebastes spp. that have been 

 described in the literature either lack pigment on 

 the cranium and the nape and/or possess pigment 

 on at least one of the other areas described above 

 (Morris, 1956; Moser et al., 1977; Moser and Ahl- 

 strom, 1978; Moser and Butler, 1981, 1987; Stahl- 

 Johnson, 1985; Kendall and Lenarz, 1987; Matarese 

 et al., 1989; Wold, 1991; Moreno, 1993; Laroche 2 ), 

 Based on a cluster analysis by Wold (1991) and ex- 

 isting descriptions of early larvae (Westrheim, 1975; 

 Moser et al., 1977; Stahl-Johnson, 1985; Moser and 

 Butler, 1987; Matarese et al., 1989; Wold, 1991; 

 Moreno, 1993; Laroche 2 ), other Sebastes spp. com- 

 monly found in the study region with larval pigment 

 patterns similar to S. goodei include S. entomelas, 

 S. flavidus, S. melanops, S. mystinus, S. pinniger, S. 

 ruberrimus, and members of the subgenus Sebastomus, 

 which includes S. chlorostictus, S. constellatus, S. 

 helvomaculatus, and S. rosaceus. Otolith analysis 

 showed that other Sebastes spp. with similar pigmen- 

 tation had otolith characters significantly different from 

 those of S. goodei (Fig. 2; Table 6) indicating that S. 

 goodei could be accurately identified solely on the ba- 

 sis of pigment patterns described in this study (Fig. 1, 

 A and B). It should be noted that pigment on the 

 cleithral region has not always been documented, be- 

 cause it may be partially obscured by the operculum in 

 some specimens and, therefore, overlooked. To avoid 

 identification problems, the operculum should be lifted 

 to reveal the pigment on the cleithral region. 



Juvenile S. goodei can be distinguished from other 

 Sebastes spp. off central California by their distinc- 

 tive barred pigment pattern (Fig. 1, G and 

 HXMatarese et al., 1989; Moreland and Reilly, 1991; 

 Laroche 2 ). The forward projecting pattern of the first 

 three body bars readily distinguishes S. goodei from 

 other barred Sebastes spp., such as S. saxicola and 

 S. caurinus, in which the body bars do not project 

 forward (Matarese et al., 1989; Laroche 2 ). Meristic 

 characters can also be used to distinguish S. goodei 

 from these other barred Sebastes spp. because the 

 modal anal-fin-ray count in S. goodei is 8, whereas 

 the modal counts for S. saxicola and S. caurinus are 

 7 and 6 respectively (Chen, 1986; Matarese et al., 

 1989; Moreland and Reilly, 1991). Although the ma- 

 jority of S. goodei did not possess supraocular spines, 



