Orr and Blackburn: Resurrection of Sebastes variabilis and redescription of Sebastes aliatus 



341 



Figure 5 



Distribution of Sebastes variabilis based on materia] examined (open circles! and recent National Marine Fisheries 

 Service survey data (closed circles) for the years 1999 to 2002. Each symbol may represent more than one capture. 



Body color in life variable (Fig. ID); adults typically 

 light, greenish-tan (Fig. IB), often darker gray dorsally 

 (Fig. ID), rarely lighter yellow overall (Fig. ID); invari- 

 ably lightening ventrally to pinkish-white on head, belly, 

 anal-fin base, and caudal peduncle; a clear demarcation 

 between darker dorsum and light ventrum above anal-fin 

 base; vague darker mottling tapering from origin of soft 

 dorsal-fin ventrally and forward narrowing across lateral 

 line, faint darker mottling also present farther posterior at 

 soft dorsal-fin base, mottling most evident in tan individu- 

 als; brown to orange "flecks" present on sides of body on 

 posterior fields of scales, appearing as darker speckling in 

 juveniles. Head similar in background color to body, two 

 prominent bars extending from orbit to preopercle, a prom- 

 inent bar along anterior margin of maxilla in darker indi- 

 viduals (these bars obsolete in light individuals). Median 

 fins and pelvic fins uniformly gray, lighter in light-bodied 

 individuals. Pectoral fins brown to grayish pink; lower 

 rays pink. Peritoneum light gray to jet black, typically 

 dark gray; stomach, pyloric caeca, and intestines pale. 

 See Figure 1 ( A-D) and previously published color figures 

 of Kessler (1985; "Sebastes sp., light dusky rockfish"), 

 Kramer and O'Connell (1986; "S. ciliatus, light"), Kramer 

 and O'Connell (1988, 1995; "S. ciliatus, light specimen"), 

 Orr et al. (1998, 2000; "S. ciliatus, light dusky rockfish"), 

 Orr and Reuter (2002; "light dusky"), Mecklenburg et al. 

 (2002; "light phase"). 



Juveniles in life (Fig. 1C) lighter than adults, with dor- 

 sum light-brown to tan, background covered with orange- 

 brown speckles, often with distinct dark band at base of 

 soft dorsal fin; head brassy; ventrum pink on lower jaw. 

 breast, and base of anal fin, lightening to white on belly. 



Largest specimen examined 430.8 mm (527.7 mm fork 

 length [FL], 541.3 mm TL; UW 44253). Maximum size 

 reported 590 mm FL (RACE Division 6 ). 



Distribution and natural history 



Sebastes variabilis is recorded from a single specimen off 

 Hokkaido, Japan (Shinohara et al., 1994), and from other 

 specimens collected from the east coast of Kamchatka 

 to Cape Ol'utorskii (at 60°N) in the western Bering Sea. 

 along the Aleutian Islands to 60°N in the eastern Bering 

 Sea, through the Gulf of Alaska south to Johnstone Strait, 

 British Columbia (Peden and Wilson, 1976; Richards and 

 Westrheim, 1988; Fig. 5), and to central Oregon (based on 

 a recently collected single specimen [UW 46575] ). The ear- 

 lier record of Schultz (1936) and Alverson and Welander 

 ( 1952 ) from Washington at Neah Bay was reidentified by 

 Westrheim (1968) as S. entomelas. 



Although the depth of collection for material examined 

 ranges from 6 to 370 m, and the species is recorded at 

 depths to 675 m, large adults are commonly found along 

 the edge of the continental shelf at depths of 100-300 m, 



