138 
Fishery Bulletin 1 14(2) 
Table 1 
Measurements of larval swordspine rockfish ( Sebastes ensifer ) collected in the Southern California Bight during the Cali- 
fornia Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations survey in April 1999 and Baseline Cowcod Conservation Area survey 
in February 2002, given as percentages of body length (BL): preanal length (PAL), body depth (BD), head length (HL), head 
width (HW), snout length (SnL), eye diameter (ED), length of the pectoral-fin blade (PiL), and length of the pelvic fin (P 2 L). 
For one specimen, an ED was not collected because the eyes were missing. A(=number of specimens examined. 
Stage 
N 
BL (mm) 
PAL 
BD 
HL 
HW 
SnL 
ED 
PiL 
p 2 l 
Preflexion 
2 
2.6 
39.0 
20.6 
21.9 
9.2 
3.6 
9.6 
6.9 
0 
Preflexion 
3 
2.8 
39.5 
19.9 
21.7 
8.6 
5.0 
9.3 
7.1 
0 
Preflexion 
2 
2.9 
39.5 
18.4 
19.5 
9.0 
5.5 
8.6 
5.5 
0 
Preflexion 
3 
3.0 
36.4 
18.6 
18.3 
7.4 
5.2 
9.9 
5.6 
0 
Preflexion 
3 
3.1 
34.4 
17.8 
21.3 
10.0 
6.5 
9.5 
8.8 
0 
Preflexion 
3 
3.2 
35.2 
18.1 
21.8 
8.2 
5.6 
8.8 
6.7 
0 
Preflexion 
3 
3.3 
34.3 
19.7 
21.8 
7.3 
4.9 
8.2 
6.7 
0 
Preflexion 
2 
3.4 
28.5 
17.9 
19.3 
6.9 
4.9 
7.9 
5.9 
0 
Preflexion 
2 
3.5 
38.6 
16.7 
17.7 
9.9 
5.7 
8.9 
8.4 
0 
Preflexion 
3 
3.6 
35.0 
18.9 
17.1 
8.9 
6.5 
9.4 
6.9 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
3.8 
41.3 
21.1 
27.6 
11.3 
8.2 
- 
9.7 
0 
Preflexion 
2 
3.9 
39.5 
19.7 
19.7 
8.7 
7.9 
9.0 
9.5 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
4.1 
33.0 
15.0 
13.6 
7.3 
2.9 
6.8 
5.8 
0 
Preflexion 
2 
4.2 
33.6 
18.3 
21.1 
11.3 
5.7 
8.1 
8.9 
0 
Preflexion 
3 
4.3 
41.9 
24.9 
25.3 
11.5 
6.5 
9.5 
12.2 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
4.4 
36.4 
20.9 
20.0 
12.7 
4.5 
8.6 
10.0 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
4.5 
45.1 
21.8 
19.1 
8.9 
5.6 
8.2 
10.9 
0 
Preflexion 
3 
4.6 
34.8 
20.3 
25.4 
8.5 
6.7 
8.7 
9.7 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
4.9 
35.9 
18.2 
21.4 
8.8 
6.9 
7.6 
13.9 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
5.1 
34.5 
23.5 
20.6 
9.6 
4.9 
9.0 
13.3 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
5.2 
36.4 
21.7 
22.5 
10.9 
5.4 
7.8 
7.8 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
5.4 
38.7 
20.6 
25.0 
9.1 
5.7 
8.0 
14.8 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
6.0 
37.4 
23.8 
25.2 
15.2 
7.3 
8.8 
11.3 
0 
Preflexion 
1 
6.2 
41.6 
23.7 
25.0 
13.6 
8.4 
8.4 
11.0 
0 
Postflexion 
2 
7.7 
52.5 
32.9 
38.2 
22.8 
13.5 
11.6 
17.9 
6.0 
Postflexion 
1 
8.4 
53.6 
33.8 
33.8 
20.0 
8.6 
11.2 
18.6 
6.2 
ing to a 2-bp difference in the 782-bp sequenced) with 
a minimum of 0.0000 (e.g., S. jordani) and a maximum 
of 0.0066 (in S. aleutianus). Divergence among refer- 
ence haplotypes for species of Sebastomus ranged from 
0.0102 to 0.0204 (Hyde and Vetter, 2007). 
Results 
Identification of larvae 
Respectively, 91 of 339 and 112 of 846 Sebastes lar- 
vae collected in the CalCOFI and CCA surveys were S. 
ensifer. Among the larval S. ensifer sequenced for this 
study, divergence from reference haplotypes ranged 
from 0.0000 to 0.0080. Of the 76 sequences submitted to 
GenBank (accession numbers KM974185-KM974260), 
22 sequences were identical to haplotype references in 
the GenBank database, 20 sequences differed by 1 bp, 
14 sequences differed by 2 bp, 18 sequences differed 
by 3 bp, 1 sequence differed by 4 bp; and 1 sequence 
differed by 5 bp. 
Description 
Moser (1967) illustrated a 4.2-mm early-stage larva as 
Sebastodes rhodochloris. The smallest larva described 
in our study, 2.6 mm, had no yolk or oil globule remain- 
ing. Notochord flexion begins soon after larvae reach 
6.2 mm and is completed by about 7.7 mm. Transfor- 
mation to the pelagic juvenile stage begins near 20 mm 
and is complete by about 27 mm (Rocha-Olivares et al., 
2000). 
Larvae are moderately deep-bodied and robust 
through much of their development, although they are 
initially somewhat elongate, have a rounded head and 
short snout, a short preanal length, and large, and 
slightly oval to round eyes (Fig. 1A, Table 1). Most 
body proportions increase gradually during develop- 
ment; more rapid increases in relative preanal length, 
body depth, HL, and eye diameter occur between pre- 
flexion and postflexion stages (Table 1). All larvae have 
26 myomeres (6-8 preanal myomeres during the pre- 
flexion stage, shifting to 10-11 during the postflexion 
stage). 
