E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia

Sebastes melanostictus Matsubara, 1934
Blackspotted Rockfish
Family: Scorpaenidae

E-Fauna's interactive maps for fish are not yet available.

Species Information

Presence in BC based on "Orr and Hawkins (2008), distinction from aleutianus and resurrection of melanostictus" (Gillespie pers. comm. 2011). "The blackspotted rockfish was distinguished [from rougheye rockfish (aleutianus)] primarily by a darker body color, discrete spotting on the dorsal fin and body, longer fin spines, longer gill rakers, and a narrower body depth at the anal-fin origin" (Shotwell et al. 2006).

Source: FishBase.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Unlisted	Unlisted	Unlisted	Unlisted

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic and lineage information (NCBI Taxonomy Browser)

Additional Range and Status Information Links

NatureServe Explorer
University of Alaska Museum

Additional Photo Sources

Flickr Image Search
Google Image Search
Images from Calphoto

Species References

Shotwell, S. Kalei, Dana Hanselman, and David M. Clausen. 2006. Gulf of Alaska Rougheye rockfish (Executive Summary). NOAA. Available online.

General References

FishBase References
Google Scholar Search

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2021. E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia [efauna.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2025-06-24 10:20:56 AM]

Disclaimer: The information contained in an E-Fauna BC atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited (with permission) in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Fauna BC also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Fauna BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.