FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 79, NO. 2 



nape to the lateral midline by —16.5 mm and are 

 added posteriorly along the dorsolateral body sur- 

 face with development. The melanophores located 

 above the posterior portion of the anal fin disap- 

 pear by —18 mm. Discrete melanophores are added 

 at the articulation of dorsal fin rays and spines 

 until most soft rays have an associated 

 melanophore by ~14 mm and most spines have one 

 by =19 mm. Melanophores are added along the 

 caudal fin base, sometimes appearing as a line of 

 pigment, and onto the fin membrane. Pigment de- 

 creases and then disappears on the pelvic fin and 

 underside of the pectoral fin base by -18 mm and 

 on the pectoral fin by =20 mm. 



During transformation, =22-31 mm, pigment 

 gradually continues to increase over the head and 

 body. External melanophores are added on the 

 lips, lower jaw, snout, and dorsolateral areas of the 

 head. Pigment becomes continuous around the 

 orbit by =30 mm. Melanophores over the dorsolat- 

 eral surfaces of the body often appear aligned 

 along the myosepta, but this pattern becomes 

 obscured as melanophores are added between the 

 myosepta, particularly along the dorsal one-third 

 of the body. 



Pelagic juveniles, 31-40 mm, undergo a general 

 increase in pigment with development. The upper 

 head, snout, lips, lower jaw, maxillary, cheek, and 

 gular region become increasingly pigmented with 

 small melanophores. Melanophores are added 

 ventrolaterally on the body until all but the ven- 

 tral one-eighth is pigmented. Pigment distinctly 

 lines the caudal fin base. 



Benthic juveniles, >44 mm, become increas- 

 ingly pigmented as small melanophores are added 



on the head and appear on the scales and fins. 

 Pigmentation at the anterior tips of the lips and 

 along the maxillary intensifies. By =55.5 mm a 

 dark bar of pigment extends the length of the 

 maxillary, and two other bars extend from the 

 posteroventral margin of the eye across the cheek. 

 The most dorsal cheek bar extends completely 

 across the opercle. Dark blotches appear on the 

 dorsal surfaces of the body as scale-borne melano- 

 phores overlie the body pigment which developed 

 during the transformation and pelagic juvenile 

 stages. In small benthic juveniles these blotches 

 appear as indistinct bands as melanophores are 

 added ventrolaterally to them. However, a mottled 

 pattern appears over the dorsal half of the body by 

 = 66 mm. Melanophores are added anteriorly and 

 proximally on the first dorsal fin and are eventually 

 scattered over the entire fin. A dark blotch devel- 

 ops in the posterior portion of the spinous dorsal 

 fin by =45 mm and persists in the largest juveniles 

 observed; however, as development proceeds the 

 blotch becomes less intensely pigmented and more 

 of a pigment fringe, rather than a blotch. The 

 membranes of the spinous and soft dorsal fins and 

 caudal fin become lightly covered with small 

 melanophores by =56 mm. Also by =56 mm, a 

 small patch of melanophores appears on the dorsal 

 half of the pectoral fin ray bases and adjacent fin 

 base. 



Occurrence (Figures 4, 5). — Adult S. entomelas 

 occur from Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, to 

 Kodiak Island, Alaska (Miller and Lea 1972). Off 

 Oregon they are reported to be most common on 

 the continental shelf between 100 and 200 m depth 



• 65 



■^• 



• 8 



• 3 



30 103 9 42 



• • • • •• 



52 5 



37 



Larvae 



/ 9 



N' 



/ 2 



2 I 



N 



 Pelagic Juveniles 



^....^1 





Figure 4. — Number of specimens and location of capture of larvae and juveniles o{Sebastes entomelas off Oregon ( 1961-78) described in 



this paper. 



242 



