Frable et al: A new species of Sebastes 
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specimens, lower jaw length 27.3-37.0% HL (31.8% 
HL), mandible with patches of 5 or 6 rows of teeth near 
symphysis that become 3 rows of minute conical teeth 
away from symphysis, mandibular pores weak or ab- 
sent, tongue smooth; symphyseal knob generally weak 
to absent, more pronounced in larger specimens, but 
not exaggerated, symphyseal knob length 2. 6-5. 9% HL 
(4.6% HL); gill arch length 30.6-53.5% HL (43.4% HL). 
Dorsal margin of opercular flap extends at posteroven- 
tral 18-20° angle with body midline, posterior margin 
of opercular flap straight, sloping at 65° anteroventral 
angle to body midline, curving anteriorly near ventral 
extreme; opercular spines 2, both weakly protruding 
from skin, dorsal spine slightly stronger than ventral 
spine; preopercular spines 5, dorsal 4 spines moderate- 
ly developed, fifth spine small and weak. 
Predorsal length 28.6-40.3% SL (32.4% SL); prepel- 
vic length 34.1-48.3% SL (39.6% SL); preanal length 
64.4-76.1% SL (70.6% SL). Origin of dorsal fin slightly 
anterior to posterior tip of opercular flap, dorsal-fin 
base length 55.3-67.4% SL (61.6% SL), spinous dorsal- 
fin base 31.2-41.2% SL (37.5% SL), spinous portion of 
dorsal fin slightly rounded, highest in middle, dorsal-fin 
spine I 3.4-6. 1% SL (4.7% SL), first dorsal spine short- 
est, subsequent spines much longer, longest dorsal-fin 
spine (IV) 8.7-13.8% SL (11.6% SL), dorsal spines IV- 
VII roughly the same length, with posterior spines de- 
creasing in length, 1 spine at origin of rayed section of 
dorsal fin, rayed dorsal-fin base 20.5-29.4% SL (24.1% 
SL), dorsal-fin rays decreasing in size posteriorly form- 
ing straight sloping edge with a slightly curved ante- 
rior portion; anal-fin base 14.7-19.8% SL (16.9% SL), 
anal-fin spine I length 2. 6-6. 7% SL (4.5% SL), anal-fin 
spine II length 6.4-13.2% SL (9.7% SL), anal-fin spine 
III length, usually the longest, 7.5-13.8% SL (10.7% 
SL), anal-fin rays decrease in size posteriorly, posterior 
tips of rays form line nearly perpendicular to body axis, 
not curved; pectoral-fin length 25.6-32.7% SL (29.2% 
SL), pectoral-fin base height 8.4-11.7% SL (10.3% SL), 
pectoral-fin rays on dorsal half of fin branched, ventral 
9-10 rays unbranched, rays thick and cylindrical; pel- 
vic-fin length 16.3-23.4% SL (20.1% SL), lateralmost 
pelvic-fin ray longest, rays decreasing in size medially, 
posterior margin of fin straight, pelvic-fin spine length 
8.9-15.6% SL (12.6% SL); caudal-peduncle depth 8.6- 
12.5% SL (10.6% SL), dorsal caudal-peduncle length 
8.6-15.3% SL (11.8% SL); ventral caudal-peduncle 
length 14.1-21.4% SL (17.9% SL), caudal fin broad, 
weakly emarginate. 
Rough scales with many small ctenii covering most 
of body; head, including jaws, completely scaled, scales 
on cranium between supraoccipital crest and snout 
minute and unorganized, these scales also cover jaws, 
circumorbital area, and region ventral to orbit; pre- 
opercle and opercle covered in loosely organized rows 
of larger scales, posteriorly flanked by accessory scales. 
Scales on trunk moderate to large, largest scales near 
midline of body, most trunk scales also posteriorly 
flanked by unorganized accessory scales; lateral-line 
pores not associated one-to-one with scales, forming a 
slightly arched line along the dorsal third of the trunk 
originating at the dorsal insertion of opercular flap, 
curving to central midline of body at vertical through 
dorsal-fin insertion and terminating at caudal-fin base. 
Fins almost entirely scaled except for membranes of 
spinous dorsal and anal fins and posterior portions of 
the unbranched pectoral rays. 
Coloration of live specimens (Figs. IB and 8B) Overall 
body coloration somewhat variable, ranging from steel 
blue to greenish blue; ventrum white; sides of body with 
large, dark, angular blotches and no speckles; blotches 
easily discernible in larger juveniles (>100 mm SL) 
and mature adults; smaller juveniles generally solid 
brown-blue without distinct pattern of blotches. Head 
with 2 posteroventrally oriented dark bars, dorsal bar 
originating from orbit and extending to ventral margin 
of opercle, ventral bar running through orbit and over 
snout to terminate on ventral margin of opercular flap. 
One or 2 additional dark bars across dorsal surface of 
head behind orbit, terminating on opercular flap. Spi- 
nous dorsal-fin membrane completely dark and without 
spots, dorsal and caudal fin uniform dark blue to black, 
thin unpigmented strip on distal margin of caudal fin; 
anal fin slightly lighter, gray-blue to dark gray; pel- 
vic fins light gray with blue tips, spine white to light 
gray; pectoral fins mostly dark blue-black, distal half of 
unbranched pectoral-fin rays light gray to white. Peri- 
toneum usually black to dark gray, sometimes light in 
large specimens; stomach and other internal organs 
pale gray. 
Coloration of preserved specimens (Figs. ID and 11) Af- 
ter death and during process of preservation, body 
pattern becomes less distinct and overall color fades 
to dark blue-brown; blotched pattern still visible on 
specimens through at least first 30 years of preser- 
vation. Blotches absent in some long-preserved speci- 
mens; however, this absence may reflect variation in 
preservation technique or exposure to light. Ventrum 
cream to light brown, dorsal and caudal fin dark blue- 
black, anal fin dark gray to dark blue-black, pelvic fin 
light with black tips, pectoral fins mostly brown-black, 
but distal half of unbranched rays white. Bars on 
head fade slightly, but remain dark and distinct; orbit 
cloudy white-blue. 
Etymology 
The species name in Sebastes mystinus is an adjective 
derived from the Latinized form of the ancient Greek 
word pbotqo, which means initiated one or mystic 
(Hollmann 4 ), although interpreted as “priest” (Jordan 
and Evermann, 1898). It was selected as the specific 
epithet because 19 th century fishermen of Monterey, 
California, called the fish the “peche pretre” (translated 
as “priest-fish” by Goode, 1884) because of its overall 
4 Hollmann, A. 2015. Personal commun. Department of 
Classics, Univ. Wash., Seattle, WA 98195. 
