| Sebastidae | |
|---|---|
| Gopher rockfish, Sebastes carnatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Sebastidae |
| Genera | |
|
Adelosebastes |
|
Sebastidae is a family of marine fish in the order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include rockfishes, thornyheads and rockcods. Despite the latter name, they are not closely related to the cods in the genus Gadus, nor the rock cod, Lotella rhacina.
Not all authorities recognise this family as distinct from the Scorpaenidae. FishBase does recognise it,[1] but ITIS does not.[2]
There are about 130 species in this family, the substantial majority of them belonging to genus Sebastes, including the rose fish, Sebastes marinus. They are found in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. Over 100 of the species are viviparous, and these occur mainly in the North Pacific. All species have a venom gland in their dorsal, anal and pelvic spines.