{{Short description|Subfamily of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Gopher rockfish.jpg | image_caption = Gopher rockfish, ''Sebastes carnatus'' | taxon = Sebastinae | authority = Kaup, 1873 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = see text }}
'''Sebastinae''' is a subfamily of marine fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes. Their common names include '''rockfishes''', '''rock perches''', '''ocean perches''', '''sea perches''' and '''rockcods'''. Despite the latter name, they are not closely related to the cods in the genus ''Gadus'', nor the rock cod, ''Lotella rhacina''.
==Taxonomy== Sebastinae, or Sebastidae, was first formally recognised as a grouping in 1873 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup.<ref name = VDLEF>{{cite journal |author1=Richard van der Laan |author2=William N. Eschmeyer |author3=Ronald Fricke |name-list-style=amp |year=2014 |title=Family-group names of Recent fishes |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268078514 |journal=Zootaxa |volume=3882 |issue=2 |pages=001–230 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 |pmid=25543675 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Some authorities recognise this family as distinct from Scorpaenidae. FishBase, a finfish database generated by a consortium of academic institutions, does,<ref name=FishBase>{{FishBase family |family=Sebastidae |month=June |year=2021}}</ref> but the United States Federal government's Integrated Taxonomic Information System<ref>{{ITIS |taxon=Sebastes |id=166705 |access-date=12 June 2006}}</ref> and the 5th Edition of ''Fishes of the World'' do not, FotW classify it as a subfamily of the Scorpaenidae.<ref name = Nelson5>{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages= 468–475 |publisher=Wiley |ISBN= 978-1-118-34233-6 |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ }}</ref> ''Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes'' classifies it as a subfamily of Scorpaenidae, but also classifies the Sebastolobinae (previously considered a tribe of the Sebastinae) as a different subfamily.<ref name=":132">{{Cite web |last=Fricke |first=R. |last2=Eschmeyer |first2=W. N. |last3=Van der Laan |first3=R. |date=2025 |title=ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION |url=https://www.calacademy.org/eschmeyers-catalog-of-fishes-classification |access-date= |website=California Academy of Sciences |language=en}}</ref>
==Genera== The following genera are placed in this group:<ref name = Nelson5/><ref name="CofF">{{Cof family|family=Sebastinae|access-date=August 7, 2025}}</ref>
* Subfamily '''Sebastinae''' <small>Kaup, 1873</small> ** ''Helicolenus'' <small>Goode & Bean, 1896</small> ** ''Hozukius'' <small>Matsubara, 1934</small> ** ''Sebastes'' <small>Cuvier, 1829</small> ** ''Sebastiscus'' <small>Jordan & Starks, 1904</small>
==Characteristics== Sebastinae species have a compressed body with the head typically having ridges and spines. The gill membranes are not attached to the isthmus. There is a venom gland in the spines of the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins. The largest species is the shortraker rockfish ('' Sebastes borealis'') which attains a maximum total length of {{cvt|108|cm}} while the smallest species is ''Sebastes koreanus'' which reaches a maximum total length of {{cvt|13.7|cm}}.<ref name = FishBase/>
==Distribution and habitat== Sebastinae rockfishes are found in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans with most species in the largest genus, the ovoviviparous ''Sebastes'' with over 100 species, in the North Pacific. They can be found in marine and brackish waters.<ref name = FishBase/>
==References== <references/>
{{Sebastidae}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q1313107}}
Category:Sebastinae Category:Scorpaenidae Category:Venomous fish Category:Ovoviviparous fish Category:Marine fish families Category:Taxa named by Johann Jakob Kaup