Northern ronquil photo by Ryan Murphy
| Domain | Eukarya |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Actnopterigii |
| Order | Perciformes |
| Family |
Bathymasteridae |
| Genus | Ronquilus jordani |
| Species | jordani |
| Common Name: | Northern ronquil |
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This file is provided as part of a collaborative effort by the students, faculty, volunteers and staff of Lester B. Pearson College
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2005 |
Ryan Murphy |
Sebastes emphaeus, Puget Sound Rockfish photo by Ryan Murphy
Ryan took this photo in late August 2010, while diving at 10 metres at Race Rocks.
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Actinopterygii
Scorpaeniformes
Family Sebastidae
Genus Sebastes
Species S. emphaeus (Starks, 1911)
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Other Members of the Class Actinopterigii at Race Rocks.
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 Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomyand Image File |
 The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. August 2010- Ryan Murphy |
This is a very secretive fish that was not identified until the 1970’s, probably due to its elusive and often nocturnal habits. Ryan spotted this one near the end of a dive as it made a quick getaway, resulting in the blurry images.Note the jellyfish Mitrocoma cellulari on the left side.
Images by by Ryan Murphy
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Sub-Phylum Vertebrata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Scorpaeniformes
suborderCottoidei
Family Agonidae
Genus Agonomalus
Species mozinoi
Common Name: Kelp Poacher
| Other Members of the Class Actinopterygii at Race Rocks |
| Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File |
| The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.
Ryan Murphy (PC) |
Cabezon:(literally big head in Spanish ) is a benthic fish that lives among the kelp holdfasts and rocky areas, usually very close to the bottom. It is often so confident of its camouflage that it will not move when approached by divers. Note the multi colored eye. These fish will lunge at almost anything that moves on the bottom. Dissections of their stomachs reveal amphipods and small crabs, pieces of kelp (and even rocks they have grabbed when foraging for other invertebrates.)
Cabezon are normally benthic or bottom-dwellers, living among rocks and seaweeds in tide pools. Sometimes they live just below the water’s surface among the marine plants. Their coloration allows them to remain well camouflaged. Their habitat is most likely rocky, sandy and muddy bottoms, living in areas with a depth range of 0 to 200 meters. Moreover, young cabezon feed on small crustaceans like amphipods, shrimp, and crabs. The adults feed on crustaceans, marine worms and mollusks, including clams and abalone. They can swallow a whole abalone and later regurgitate the indigestible shell; therefore, their tropic level is that of a secondary carnivore. In addition, the limiting factors that will affect the development and growth of this population in a certain habitat will be the presence of enough light, temperature and the availability of food and living space
Their maximum length and weight are 99.0 centimeters and 14.0 Kilograms respectively. This organism can be seen in the Eastern Pacific, which covers the areas from Southeastern Alaska to Punta Abrejos, in Central Baja California, Mexico. Race Rocks is located in the centre of this range. In this map we can see the range of this fish.
Reference The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) BioBot
http://www.elasmodiver.com/BCMarinelife/BCML%20Chordata.htm
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Other Members of the Class actinopterigii/ at Race Rocks.
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| Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File |
| The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. March 15 2005- Diomedes Saldana PC -Greco |
In this amazing picture, Ryan captured the spray of blood from the sturgeon as the northern sealion takes a bite. This is a first record we have for sturgeon in the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. These images were taken by Ryan Murphy on the evening of March 2, 2009.
| See Ryan’s Flickr site: |
For confirmation of the identity of this fish, we contacted Lisa Spaven of DFO in Nanaimo and she helped us get in touch with a number of Canadian and American specialists in Sturgeon. There were some initial considerations that it may be a Green Sturgeoon but as the following conversation indicates, they have settled on the White Sturgeon:
Mar 06,2009,
From Chris Wood:
Conservation Biology Section
Science Branch, Fisheries and Oceans Canada Pacific Biological Station:
Hi Troy
White or green?
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Mar 08,2009
From Troy Nelson: Director of Science
Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society
” I have looked at the pics of the sturgeon at Race Rocks and think it
may indeed be a white. Although darker/tinted coloration is present, I think this may be partially caused by the low sun and color of the sunset (see the pinks in the water behind the fish in the last pic).Most notable is the lack of a dark stripe on the bottom side of the sturgeon, anterior of the pectoral fins. There is one shot of the bottom of the sturgeon and this section looks devoid of any dark stripe.I have attached pics of a confrimed green sturgeon (from the Albion Test Fishery); note the dark stipe that ends in an “arrowhead” shape on underside of the upper body. I have copied Olaf Langness (WA DFW) who works with green sturgeon; he may be able to confirm if the Race Rocks sturgeon is a green (or white) in 10 seconds or less”.
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March 9, 2009
From Chris Wood
“Thanks Troy, I was expecting it to be a green sturgeon in that location, but in one
picture, there seemed to be a (too?)close spacing of lateral scutes
between the pelvic and anal fin. We’ll see what Olaf says”…
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March 9, 2009
Olaf Langness Fisheries Biologist (Washigton State Department of Fish and Wildlife)
“Thanks Troy for sending this to me.
I would say your assessment is correct. I think the Race Rock sturgeon was a white sturgeon. Besides your comments about the lack of a belly stripe, I also think the lateral scutes look small and plentiful, more that of white sturgeon than green sturgeon. As to the pink coloration, I agree that some of that may be the result of time of day when the photo was taken, but also would not be unusual for a sturgeon under stress to pink up on the lighter belly area, and even to darken slightly on top. Furthermore, there are way more white sturgeon identified in the surrounding waters of Race Rocks (off southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Straits of Juan de Fuca) than green sturgeon, based on tagging studies and commercial or recreational landing reports. As you know, white sturgeon are being attacked this time of year, just below Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. Many of these fish are mature adults, taken by large Steller (Northern) Sea Lions. The more prevalent California Sea Lions are smaller than the Stellers, so they tend to go after salmon and mostly leave the sturgeon alone. While we have been authorized to kill up to 85 California Sea Lions a year, the Steller Sea Lion is listed under our Endangered Species Act. So our marine mammal hazement program is focused on reducing predation on spring chinook salmon, and limited on what can be done to control the predation on sturgeon. This is of great concern to sturgeon managers in Washington and Oregon, especially due to the sea lions targeting of the spawning broodstock .”
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March 9,2009
Chris C. Wood
Species transmontanus
Common Name: White sturgeon
Pacific White Sturgeon
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Acipenseriformes
Suborder Acipenseroidei
Family Acipenseridae
Subfamily Acipenserinae
Genus Acipenser
Species transmontanus
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Other Members of the Class Actinopterygii at Race Rocks.
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| Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File |
| The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. March 2 2009- Ryan Murphy |
General map of the Southern end of Vancouver Island. Race Rocks and Bentinck Island are in Area 19.Those waters of Eemdyk Passage in Subarea 20-5 that lie westerly of the meridian passing through 123°32.450’ west longitude and northerly of a line:
| from | 48°18.692’N | 123°33.486’W |
|---|---|---|
| to | 48°18.640’N | 123°32.916’W |
Those waters of Subareas 19-3 and 20-5 that lie inside the 40 metre contour line surrounding Great Race Rock and Rosedale Rock as shown on Chart No. 3461, published by the Canadian Hydrographic Service of the Department.
Dogfish are not usually seen by divers but they occur in the waters around Race Rocks. They are often caught by fishermen and released . The captured one above is the first one recorded for the reserve.
In June of 2007 this set of photos was taken by PB of a seagull eating a live baby dogfish. The whole shark was eventually swallowed.
| Domain | Eukarya |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Elasmobranchii |
| Order | Squaliformes |
| Family |
Squalidae |
| Genus | Squalus |
| Species | acanthias |
| Common Name: | Spiny Dogfish |
Physical description
We frequently see schools of these rockfish hanging about when we are diivng at Race Rocks. As you can see in the video, they remain at a distance as the diver swims into the group. They are a thin bass-shaped fish with few head spines. It is black, blue and black, spotted with grey or blue and grey, with black spots on the backs and dorsal fins.
Global distribution:
It lives in the ocean from the area of Amchitka Island (Auletian Islands) southeast to S. Miguel island and S. Barbara (southern California). We can find it from central California to south eastern Alaska.
Habitat:
It usually lives in mid-water or surface, but it has been captured down to 1.200 feet.
Feeding:
Young fish eat plankton and larvae, old eat mainly fish and zooplankton.
| Predators: Their predators are ling cods, sea lions and pigeon guillemots. Reproduction: Females are viviparous. From September to November they store the sperm before fertilizing the eggs. They let go young from January to May, peaking in February off California. One interesting fact: They live in groups of thousand of elements. They are good swimmers, in fact they can move hundred of miles.References: Probably more than you want to know about the fishes of the Pacific Coast, M. Love, Really Big Press, II edition. |
Andy Lamb and Phil Edgell: “Coastal fishes of the Pacific Northwest”
J.L Hart: “Pacific fishes of Canada”
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
sub phylum vertebrata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Pereciformes
Family Scorpaenidae
Genus Sebastes
Species melanops
Common Name:Black Rockfish
| Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File |
| The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. March 15 2005- Stefania Marchese PC, year 32 (Italy) |
Name: Stefania Marchese,
PC, year 32 (Italy)
Sculpin image by Ryan Murphy
Sculpin have ability to blend in with their surroundings which is useful in escaping from enemies and in capturing their prey by ambush. The body is elongate, its depth about 10cm. Head somewhat depressed, its length about 6cm. The snout is blunt in profile and It is moderate in size, the upper jaw extending to mid-pupil.
The species is very abundant in tide pools around rocky the rocky shores of Race Rocks. Tide pool sculpins show a definite tendency to return to their home pool if moved. These are very abundant in the tidepools on the north east corner of Great Race Rock. A piece of edible tissue dropped into a pool usually causes a feeding frenzy.
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Actinopterigii
Order Scorpaeniformes
Sub Order Cottoidei
Family Cottidae
Genus Oligocottus
Species maculosus
Common Name: Tidepool Sculpin
Ryan Murphy took the following photos of Sculpins when he was stationed at Race Rocks as the Ecoguardian . He was able to dive frequently while there and developed an excellence in underwater photography.
His photographs can be viewed on his Flickr site:
We have not been able to identify all the following yet so are including them all with the tidepool sculpin: Oligocottus maculosus
Other Members of the Class Actinopterigii at Race Rocks.
| Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File |
| The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. original file : Dec 2002, by Abdul Mobin.(PC) |
