FISHERY BULLETIN VOL 77. NO. 1 



above the third saddle darkens into a distinct 

 black blotch. Melanophores are added to the basal 

 half of the second dorsal fin above the fourth sad- 

 dle, appearing continuous with it on specimens 

 ■29 mm long. Melanophores are also added to the 

 basal half of the anal fin eventually extending 

 from the second anal spine to the posteriormost 

 anal fin ray on all specimens >38 mm. Specimens 

 >36 mm have a melanophore at the point of ar- 

 ticulation of each soft anal fin ray, although these 

 melanophores soon become obscured by muscula- 

 ture and scales. Three to seven small external 

 melanophores are added near the bases of the 

 caudal fin rays forming an indistinct line. 



Benthic juveniles >60 mm long retain essen- 

 tially the same melanistic pigment pattern as 

 pelagic juveniles except the intensity decreases 

 resulting in a somewhat faded appearance. Addi- 

 tional light scatterings of melanophores appear in 

 the lower jaw and gular region, second dorsal and 

 anal fins, and body in general. Two bars of pigment 

 radiate ventrally from the posteroventral margin 

 of the eye. The basic banding pattern and black 

 blotch at the base of the dorsal fin remain evident 

 in the largest juvenile, 130 mm, examined. This is 

 the same banding pattern apparent in adults, 

 however, the black blotch on the spinous dorsal fin 

 disappears. 



In life (Moser**) a juvenile (122 mm) is reddish- 

 brown dorsally, with white on the belly and five 

 brownish bars on the bodv. The first four bars 



"H. G, Moser. Fishery Biologist (Research i. Southwest 

 Fisheries Center. National Marine Fisheries ,Service, NOAA. 

 P.O. Box 271, La Jolla, CA 92038, pers. commun. 1977. 



extend ventrally to slightly below the lateral line 

 and dorsally onto the dorsal fins as diffuse dark 

 areas. The head is reddish-brown and pale below 

 eye level, with three brownish transverse bars: 

 one at the anterior level of the orbit, one at the 

 posterior level of the orbit, and one between and 

 posterior to the parietal ridges. A large spot is on 

 the opercle dorsally, and the axillary region has a 

 dusky blotch. Except for the dark bars, the first 

 and second dorsal fins are dusky at the base, grad- 

 ing to pale orange or yellowish with Vermillion or 

 deep red at the margin. The basal half of the anal 

 and pelvic fins is whitish and the distal half grades 

 from reddish to dark orange-red at the tips. The 

 outer pelvic ray has a milky white lateral margin. 

 The pectorals and caudal fins are pale orange, the 

 pectorals with dark orange-red tips and the caudal 

 with a faint dusky band on its posterior half 



Occurrence (Figures .5, 6 1. — Sebastes crameri 

 ranges from Santa Catalina Island off southern 

 California to the Bering Sea (Miller and Lea 

 1972). Off Oregon, Washington, and British Co- 

 lumbia it is primarily an outer shelf/upper slope 

 species generally occuring in depths of 150 to 300 

 m (Snytko and Fadeev 1974). Distinct population 

 clumps have been found off the Oregon coast be- 

 tween lat. 44°30' and 45°20' N (Snytko and Fadeev 

 1974). Most of our collections containing young S. 

 crameri were taken along a transect off Newport 

 (lat. 44°39.1' N) off the central Oregon coast. The 

 smallest larvae and the greatest numbers of lar- 

 vae and pelagicjuveniles were taken at stations 83 

 and 93 km offshore (water depths 700-1,300 m). 

 The nearest inshore station on this transect at 



FlOURE 5. — Number of specimens and location of capture oflarvae and juveniles ofSehnstes crameri ofTOregon ( 1961-75) described in 



this paper. 



18 



