Alternate name: Cow Rockfish
Family: Scorpaenidae, Scorpionfishes view all from this family
Description To 3'1" (94 cm); 28 lbs (12.7 kg). Deep, fusiform, compressed; adults yellow-red or pink with faint dark bars; juveniles yellow with dark bars. Head ridges not serrate; 5-6 pairs of head spines; lower jaw projects slightly beyond upper; wide space between bottom of eye and upper lip. Dorsal fins continuous, deeply notched; spines longer than rays; membranes between dorsal spines deeply incised. Caudal fin slightly forked.
Warning This fish has mildly venomous spines in the dorsal and anal fins.
Related Species Yelloweye Rockfish (S. ruberrimus) has bright yellow eyes; head ridges serrate on older fishes more than 12" (30 cm) long; edges of pelvic, anal, and caudal fins black.
Habitat Adults around deep reefs at 84-200 fathoms. Juveniles over sand at 10-17 fathoms.
Range From Usal, California, to Isla de Guadalupe, Baja California.
Discussion The Cow Cod releases its young during the winter and early spring. A single female may produce 2 million young. Adults feed on fishes, octopuses, and squids. This species is a very popular sport fish off Southern California because of its large size, and is marketed by commercial longline fishers.
