Rockfishes are spiny-rayed fishes within the genera Sebastes. There are about 108 species worldwide. Ben Frable, of Oregon State University, and colleagues recently described a new species of rockfish, the deacon rockfish. There are about 108 species worldwide, but most occur in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. There are 36 species found in BC marine waters and they are well known to commercial and recreational fishers and to divers. These species form part of a “species flock”; a group of closely-related species that are found in a specific area or ecosystem.
Ben Frable, of Oregon State University, and colleagues recently described a new species of rockfish, the deacon rockfish (Sebastes diaconus) which is similar to, but demonstrably distinct from, the well-known blue rockfish (S. mystinus) in Fishery Bulletin.
Photographs of live (A) Sebastes diaconus (deacon rockfish) and (B) S. mystinus (blue rockfish) in the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon. From Frable et al. 2015.
The two species are quite distinct morphologically especially in the mouth area, in colouration, and they form two clearly distinct genetic groups when they occur in the same habitats (hallmarks of the Biological Species Concept). It appears that what was considered to be the blue rockfish in BC is, in fact, this new species – the deacon rockfish.
What of the name, the “deacon” rockfish, S. diaconus? The scientific name of the blue rockfish is Sebastes mystinus and stems from the Greek for “venerable” (Sebastes) and for “priest” (mystinus). The specific name diaconus was selected to refer to the ancient Greek term for an assistant to a priest and, therefore, fits nicely with the similarity and inferred close evolutionary relationship between the two species.
A blue rockfish in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Calif. Photo by Flickr user NOAA’s National Ocean Service.
The UBC fish collection at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum donated specimens to the study by Frable et al. illustrating the importance of archival materials in museums, and co-operation among institutions, in furthering our still very incomplete knowledge of the biodiversity of fishes (now at about 40,000 species and counting!).
For a full account of this new species see: (open access)
Photo credits: Photo by Flickr user Ratha Grimes.
Photo by Flickr user randychiu.