Brown bomber
The widow rockfish (Sebastes entomelas), or brown bomber, 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 northeastern Pacific Ocean.
The widow rockfish has an elongate and compressed, scale covered body which has a depth which is around one third of its standard length. The head is relatively short, and the upper profile is slightly curved. The mouth is relatively small, the lower jaw projects slightly. The color is brassy brown over most of the body with the belly generally lighter in color, often with a reddish cast. The fin membranes, especially those in the anal and pectoral fins, are black. Specimens smaller than 10 inches (250 mm) are lighter in color and are tinged with vague streaks of orange. There are weak spines on the head and there are 13 spined and 14-16 soft rays in the dorsal fin while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8-10 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 60 cm (24 in).
The widow rockfish occurs from Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, to Albatross Bank, in the Gulf of Alaska. Adult widow rockfishes are most abundant from British Columbia to northern California. This is a pelagic-neritic fish which is found at depths between 0 and 549 m (0 and 1,801 ft).
Widow rockfish feed on krill and copepods as juveniles while the adults feed on juvenile crabs, amphipods, krill, and small fishes. The juveniles are preyed upon by Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus). A few mature when 12 inches (300 mm) long and 3 years old. Fifty percent are mature when 12.75 inches (324 mm) long or 4 years old. Widow rockfish may live to be 16 years old. As with other rockfish fertilization is internal and the young are born live. The number of developing eggs increases from 95,000 in fish 12.75 inches (324 mm) long, to about 1,100,000 in a fish 20 inches (510 mm) long.
