FISHERY BULLETIN VOL, 77. NO 1 



40 mm 





59.4 mm 



Figure 9. — Pelagic juvenile (40.0 mm) and benthic juvenile (59.4 mm) of Sehastes pinniger. 



Anal fin soft rays = 7 



Dorsal fin soft rays = 13-15, usually 14 or 15 



Supraocular spine = present 



Interorbital space = flat to convex. 



Large juveniles ( >26 mm SL) have the black 

 blotch at the base of the posterior half of the spi- 

 nous dorsal fin characteristic of adults. Other 

 Sebastes juveniles which have a black blotch, e.g.. 

 S. nu'lanops, S. //ac/f/w.s, S. cranieri, do not agree 

 with the characters given above. Of the Sebastes 

 species occurring off Oregon, S. pinmger has the 

 best fit to all these characters. Sebastes rmniatus 

 and S. emphaeus also agree with many of the 

 counts. However, juvenile S. iiiiniatus and S. em- 



phaeus lack a black blotch at the posterior base of 

 the spinous dorsal fin. Sebastes mtniatus usually 

 has 18 rather than 17 pectoral rays, and S. em- 

 phaeus lacks supraocular spines. The larvae and 

 juveniles in the series in question were among the 

 most abundant in our collections. Adult S. pin- 

 niger are known to be abundant in trawlable areas 

 offshore whereas S. miniatus are not commonly 

 taken (Demory et al. 1976; Niska 1976). Sebastes 

 emphaeus, although not previously reported from 

 Oregon, is well represented in our samp'es. Fig- 

 ment pattern, general body shape, time of occur- 

 rence, and constancy in number of anal fin soft 

 rays and pectoral rays helped link the dev iop- 

 mental series together. 



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