402 DR. W. O. AYRES ON SEBASTOID FISHES. [NoV. 10, 



This is the species originally described by Girard {loc. cjY.) under 

 the name rosaceus, and again quite correctly in the tenth volume of 

 the ' Pacific Railroad Reports.' In this latter publication he incor- 

 rectly refers my Sebastes ruber to it as a synonym. The two are 

 widely distinct : S. ruber has the top of the head strongly ridged and 

 spinous, as already stated in this present communication ; S. rosaceus, 

 as its generic affinities indicate, has the same region almost entirely 

 smooth, the nasal and occipital spines being barely discernible : in S. 

 ruber the preopercular spines are blunt, almost truncated ; in S. rosa- 

 ceus the same spines are long and very sharp : in S. ruber the anal fin 

 is small and rounded, its height being only about one-eighth of the 

 length of the fish, while the second and third spines of the fin are 

 nearly as high as the soft portion ; in (S. rosaceus the same fin is much 

 larger and pointed, its height being more than one- sixth of the length 

 of the fish, while the third anal spine (which is higher than the 

 second) is only about half as high as the soft portion. Many other 

 points might be noticed, but these are sufficient. The outline figures 

 show very clearly the relations of the two species. 



Sebastodes rosaceus is quite common. It is a smaller fish than 

 Sebastes ruber, seldom exceeding five or six pounds in weight. 



In the preceding notices, of course no attempt has been made to 

 give a full description of each or any of the species ; nor has any 

 comparison between our species and those of other waters been insti- 

 tuted ; for the means necessary for such a comparison are not at 

 hand. But sufficient points have been noted to identify, as it is 

 hoped, the forms to which the names here adopted are applied. 



The eleven species thus indicated are brought to the markets of 

 San Francisco at all times of the year, the fishery being little affected 

 by the seasons. They are taken with the hook, in the open sea, near 

 the Bay of San Francisco, wherever rocky bottom is found. One 

 species only, Sebastes auriculatus, is caught about the wharves of the 

 city. The spawning-season is from March to June ; and in all the 

 species the development of the young takes place within the body of 

 the mother, but to what degree I have not yet the means of stating 

 with absolute accuracy. I have traced them to such a stage of ad- 

 vancement that the mouth, the intestinal canal, the vertebral divi- 

 sions, and the vertical fins were all plainly discernible, and of course 

 the eyes strongly marked and prominent, the embryo on being re- 

 moved from the egg being fully half an inch in length. 



