Sebastes capensis, the false jacopever or Cape redfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. It is found in the South Atlantic Ocean and may also occur off southern and western South America.

Sebastes capensis
Jacopever for sale in a Cape Town fish market.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Scorpaenidae
Genus: Sebastes
Species:
S. capensis
Binomial name
Sebastes capensis
(J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Synonyms[2]
  • Scorpaena capensis Gmelin, 1789
  • Sebastichthys capensis (Gmelin, 1789)
  • Sebastes darwini Cramer, 1896
  • Sebastodes chilensis Steindachner, 1898
  • Sebastichthys chamaco Evermann & Radcliffe, 1917
  • Sebastes chamaco (Evermann & Radcliffe, 1917)
  • Sebastodes chamaco (Evermann & Radcliffe, 1917)

Taxonomy and etymology edit

Sebastes capensis was originally described by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789 as Scorpaena capensis with the type locality given as the Cape of Good Hope.[3] Some authorities place this species in the subgenus Sebastomus. It has recently been demonstrated that the specimens from Peru and Chile are actually attributable to the closely related S. oculatus and these two similar species are sympatric in the southwestern Atlantic off Argentina.[4] The specific name capensis refers to the type locality, the Cape of Good Hope.[5] The common name false jacopever derives from a name given to some groupers, originally in the Dutch East Indies and then in the Caribbean. It is a corruption of the name Jacob Evertsz, a Dutch sailor who was said to be a small man with yellowish skin, a pockmarked face and bulging eyes.[6]

Description edit

The Cape redfish is a demersal fish that grows to a maximum length of about 37 cm (15 in) though a more normal size is about 30 cm (12 in). The dorsal fin has about thirteen spines and thirteen soft rays and the anal fin has three spines and six soft rays. The general colour of this fish is reddish or brown, and there are five or six pale spots on its back.[2]

Distribution and habitat edit

The Cape redfish is found in subtropical waters in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean on the coasts of South Africa, Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island.[2] Another population may[1] be present in the southeastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile.[7] The depth range for this species is 20 to 275 m (66 to 902 ft).[2]

Biology edit

Sebastes capensis feeds on small benthic invertebrates. It is a viviparous species, retaining the eggs internally until they hatch. In the fiords of southern Chile, the young larvae occupy the channels where copepod eggs are plentiful while larger larvae move onto shelf areas where the salinity is higher and larger copepod prey is more abundant.[7] It mainly feeds on mysids.[8]

Fisheries edit

Sebastes capensis is an economically important species to artisanal fishermen as well as being part of the bycatch in lobster potting in Tristan da Cunha and in fishing surveys off South Africa.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Motomura, H.; Matsuura, K. & Khan, M. (2018). "Sebastes capensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T114178726A116202301. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T114178726A116202301.en. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Sebastes capensis" in FishBase. June 2021 version.
  3. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Sebastes". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  4. ^ Milton S. Love; Merit McCrea; and Li Kui (2018). "Aspects of the Life Histories of Pinkrose Rockfish (Sebastes simulator) and Swordspine Rockfish (Sebastes ensifer) with Notes on the Subgenus Sebastomus". Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. 117 (1): 64–76. doi:10.3160/soca-117-01-64-76.1. S2CID 73693000.
  5. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (22 May 2021). "Order Perciformes (Part 8): Suborder Scorpaenoidei: Families Sebastidae, Setarchidae and Neosebastidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  6. ^ Holthuis, L.B. (January 1995). "Who was Jacob Evertsen? Search for the identity of the godfather of some spotted groupers (Pisces: Serranidae: Epinephelinae)". Zoologische Mededelingen Leiden. 69 (6): 73–78.
  7. ^ a b Landaeta, M. F.; Castro, Leonardo R. (2006). "Larval distribution and growth of the rockfish, Sebastes capensis (Sebastidae, Pisces), in the fjords of southern Chile". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 63 (4): 714–724. doi:10.1016/j.icesjms.2006.01.002.
  8. ^ Barrientos, Gonzalez and Moreno (2006). Geographical differences in the feeding patterns of red rockfish (Sebastes capensis) along South American coasts. Fishery Bulletin 104(4): 489–497