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Fishery Bulletin 113(4) 
include 2 reproductively isolated entities (Hyde, et al., 
2008). 
In this study, we focus taxonomic attention on S. 
mystinus, a common nearshore species found from 
northern Mexico to British Columbia, Canada. In the 
19 th century, S. mystinus was the most commercially 
important species in California; now it is mainly tar- 
geted recreationally (Love et ah, 2002). Over the last 
decade, multiple studies have identified 2 genetically 
distinct groups of S. mystinus along the Pacific coast 
(Cope, 2004; Burford and Larson, 2007; Burford and 
Bernardi, 2008; Burford, 2009; Burford et ah, 2011a, 
2011b), and in several studies the presence of 2 mor- 
phologically unrecognized species have been hypothe- 
sized (Burford and Bernardi, 2008; Burford, 2009; Bur- 
ford et ah, 2011a, 2011b). 
Cope (2004) first identified genetic distinctions be- 
tween northern and southern populations of blue rock- 
fish while studying their stock structure. His analysis 
revealed numerous fixed differences in the sequence 
of the mitochondria] control region between samples 
from the Oregon-Washington region and samples from 
California waters. These data indicate that the genet- 
ic break occurred in the vicinity of Cape Mendocino, 
California. 
Burford and colleagues then applied additional mo- 
lecular and phylogeographic analyses to these 2 popula- 
tions (Burford and Larson, 2007; Burford and Bernardi, 
2008; Burford, 2009; Burford et ah, 2011a, 2011b). In 
a combined analysis of mitochondrial (control region) 
and nuclear (recombination-activating gene 1 [RAG1]) 
markers and microsatellites for the subgenus Sebasto- 
somus, Burford and Bernardi (2008) were the first to 
propose that the 2 populations might represent differ- 
ent species. Within S. mystinus, Burford and Bernardi 
(2008) identified 2 clades with higher genetic diver- 
gence (FgT=0.120) than that found between 2 well- 
established species (Narum et ah, 2004), the gopher 
rockfish Sebastes carnatus (Jordan and Gilbert, 1880b) 
and the black-and-yellow rockfish S. chrysomelas (Jor- 
dan and Gilbert, 1881), and with much higher genetic 
divergence than that among populations of S. melanops 
(Fst=0-032) (Miller et ah, 2005). They estimated the di- 
vergence time of the 2 lineages to be between 780,000 
and 920,000 years ago, far preceding the Last Glacial 
Maximum (LGM) and, therefore, refuting Burford and 
Larsons’s (2007) hypothesis that the LGM caused al- 
lopatric speciation within S. mystinus. 
Burford and Bernardi (2008) concluded that the 2 
genetically distinct groups of S. mystinus are incipient 
species on the basis of the evidence presented here pre- 
viously and the lack of evidence for introgression or hy- 
bridization. Burford (2009) expanded on this conclusion 
by directly testing hypotheses of demographic history 
and speciation scenarios with an expanded sampling of 
6 microsatellites and the control region marker. They 
found evidence for a demographic contraction and rapid 
expansion near the time of genetic coalescence and far 
earlier than the LGM (Burford, 2009). Burford (2009) 
concluded that the 2 lineages speciated allopatrically 
much earlier than the LGM and that they have subse- 
quently expanded ranges to form an area of sympatry 
from central Oregon to northern California. 
Finally, Burford et al. (2011a, 2011b) examined mi- 
crosatellite data from 466 type-1 (northern group) and 
1752 type-2 (southern group) specimens collected from 
Fort Bragg, California, south to Santa Cruz Island, Cali- 
fornia, to determine rates of hybridization (Burford et 
al., 2011a) and year-class compositional and ecological 
differences (Burford et ah, 2011b). Burford et al. (2011a) 
found no hybridization in northern localities with higher 
co-occurrence, but they identified low levels in South- 
ern California (highest rate of hybridization=4.1%). This 
finding, combined with the identification of a Wahlund 
Effect (i.e., lower heterozygosity than expected at ran- 
dom between the 2 populations), indicates that reproduc- 
tive isolation helps maintain the segregation, especially 
in areas of overlap (Burford et ah, 2011a). Burford et al. 
(2011a, 2011b) considered their results to provide suf- 
ficient evidence that the 2 genetic lineages are cryptic 
rather than incipient species. 
Despite the accumulating detail on genetic differen- 
tiation, no study provided a complementary physical 
description of the 2 types. Because of the lack of physi- 
cal descriptions or defining characteristics, precise field 
identification of Burford’s genetic lineages (type 1 and 
type 2) has eluded biologists and fishermen alike. 
Meanwhile, fisheries biologists acknowledged 2 dif- 
ferent trunk pigmentation patterns in S. mystinus from 
near the Oregon, Washington, and California shores: 
the “blue-sided” (Fig. 1, A and C) and “blue-blotched” 
rockfishes (Fig. 1, B and D) (Love, 2011), which, as the 
authors of the earlier genetic studies have indicated, 
match the type-1 and type-2 genetic lineages, respec- 
tively (Burford 1 ). That difference in color pattern indi- 
cates that these lineages may be more morphologically 
distinguishable than originally thought. 
The wealth of recent genetic work on S. mystinus 
and the discovery of a color polymorphism that is con- 
gruent with the major genetic break indicate that a 
formal taxonomic revaluation is overdue. In this study, 
we 1) test whether the morphotypes correspond with 
the types of Burford and Bernardi (2008), 2) character- 
ize the morphological features of the 2 genetic types, 3) 
use genetic and morphological data to evaluate species 
status, and 4) clarify the geographic ranges of the 2 
forms. In doing so, we confirm the genetic separation of 
the 2 color morphs and provide a formal description of 
the type-1 or blue-sided form as a new species, S. dia- 
conus, the deacon rockfish. The type-2 or blue-blotched 
form matches most of the original syntype series of S. 
mystinus, from which we designate a lectotype and re- 
describe the species. This study provides information 
essential to proper population monitoring and manage- 
ment of these species in Oregon and the northeastern 
Pacific. 
1 Burford, M. 2012. Personal commun. Department of 
Applied Ecology, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC 
27695. 
