Fishes of the Pacific Coast of Canada

FISHES OF TH E PACIFIC COAST OF. CANADA BY W. A. CLEMENS AND G. V. WILBY ON BULLETIN No. 68 (Second edition) Fishes of the Pacific coast of Canada By W. A. CLEMENS and G. V. WILBY University of British Columbia and Fisheries Research Board of Canada Illustrations by F. L. Beebe and D. B. Denbigh PUBLISHED BY THE FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF FISHERIES OTTAWA, 1961 Frontispiece opposite: The blue lanternfish, Tarletonbeania crenularis 88744-8—i - )' / 1.) 4:D ? ie Editor: W. E. RICKER Fisheries Research Board of Canada P.O. Drawer 100 Nanaimo, B.C., Canada Associate Editor: N. M. CARTER Fisheries Research Board of Canada Sir Charles Tupper Building Ottawa, Ont., Canada ROGER DUHAMEL, F.R.S.C. QUEEN'S PRINTER AND CONTROLLER OF STATIONERY OTTAWA. 1961 Price: $5.00 Cat. No. Fs 94-68 Bulletins of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada are published from time to time to present popular and scientific information concerning fishes and some other aquatic animals, their environment and the biology of their stocks, means of capture, and the handling, processing and utilizing of fish and fishery products. In addition, the Board publishes the following: • An Annual Report of the work carried on under the direction of the Board. The Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, containing the results of scientific investigations. The price of this Bulletin is $5.00 (Canadian funds, postpaid). Orders should be addressed to the Queen's Printer, Ottawa, Canada. Remittance made payable to the Receiver General of Canada should accompany the order. All publications of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada still in print are available for purchase from the Queen's Printer. Bulletin No. 110 is an index and list of publications of the Board to the end of 1954 and is priced at 75 cents per copy postpaid. 3 88744-8-1 ■ CONTENTS PAGES PREFACE 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 INTRODUCTION 8 A HISTORY OF MARINE ICHTHYOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST OF CANADA 11 EXTERNAL CHARACTERS 15 IDENTIFICATION 26 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SPECIES 65 GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED 404 BIBLIOGRAPHY 412 INDEX OF SCIENTIFIC AND COMMON NAMES 425 5 PREFACE The aim of the authors has been to provide a concise and generally useful publication for both scientific and non-scientific persons interested in the marine fishes of the Pacific coast of Canada. The difficulty of attempting to meet all needs and desires will be realized. Since fish live in the water, collections and observations present certain difficulties and the accumulation of knowledge requires considerable effort and time. The information assembled in the following pages represents the results of the patient endeavours of many persons over a long period of years. Since the first edition of this Bulletin was issued in 1946, there has been much activity on the part of ichthyologists. Many collections of fish have been made, new species have been discovered, new records have been obtained, geographic ranges have been extended and considerable new life history material has been secured. Through the much appreciated co-operation of many workers, some of whom are specialists in individual groups, it has been possible to incorporate this new knowledge in the present edition. It is hoped that the study of the fishes of British Columbia will be intensified in the years to corne. The authors have not attempted to anticipate records, in the hope that the pleasure of discovery will be an incentive to persons and organizations to make collections throughout the extensive waters along the coast. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work was started under the Fisheries Research Board of Canada at the Biological Station, Nanaimo, and continued at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. To the Fisheries Research Board and to the University, including the Institute of Fisheries, the authors wish to express their appreciation and thanks for facilities provided and for the allotment of funds. To the following they extend their sincere thanks for much and varied assistance: Dr W. Aron, Mr W. E. Barraclough, Dr R. L. Bolin, Dr J. C. Briggs, Dr G. C. Carl, Dr N. M. Carter, Dr W. M. Chapman, Dr D. M. Cohen, Mr H. A. Dunlop, Dr J. R. Dymond, Mr A. W. Ebeling, Dr R. E. Foerster, Dr J. L. Hart, Dr C. L. Hubbs, Dr K. S. Ketchen, Dr P. A. Larkin, Mr R. LeBrasseur, Dr C. C. Lindsey, Mr D. M. McAllister, Dr J. L. McHugh, Dr G. C. Myers, Dr F. Neave, Dr A. L. Pritchard, Dr W. E. Ricker, Dr L. P. Schultz, Mr T. Ueno, Dr L. A. Walford, Dr A. D. Welander, Dr N. J. Wilimovsky; and the following firms in Vancouver, B.C.: British Columbia Packers Limited, Canadian Fishing Co. Limited, Edmunds and Walker Limited, Shannon Brothers, and Vancouver Shellfish Co. 7 The half-tone illustrations of each species have been made by Mr F. L. Beebe of the British Columbia Provincial Museum Victoria, B.C. They were prepared under the direction of the authors, from actual specimens in the great majority of cases, otherwise from photographs and in few instances as recon- structions from illustrations in publications by D. S. Jordan and B. W. Evermann, E. C. Starks, R. L. Bolin, W. M. Chapman, R. R. Harry, W. Aron and P. McCrery, and J. L. B. Smith. Mr Beebe also prepared the colour drawing of the blue lanternfish which appears as a frontispiece. For this second edition six new colour illustrations have been added, prepared by Mr D. B. Denbigh of the staff of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada Biological Station, Nanaimo, B.C. INTRODUCTION The composition of the marine fish fauna of the Pacific coast of Canada is extremely varied and interesting in many respects. A few northern, or arctic, fishes have their southern limits of distribution on the British Columbia coast as for example: the capelin, Mallotus villosus, which spawns annually in Departure Bay and which has been reported from as far south as Victoria; the toothed smelt, Osmerus dentex, which has been taken in Barkley Sound; the yellowfin sole, Limanda aspera, also from Barkley Sound; the crested sculpin, Blepsias bilobus and the bigmouth sculpin, Hemitripterus bolini, to Queen Charlotte Sound; and the longsnout prickleback, Lumpenella longirostris, to Burrard Inlet. On the other hand certain southern pelagic forms tend to reach a northern limit on the British Columbia coast. The pilchard, Sardinops sagax, appeared in some years in vast numbers along the west coast of Vancouver Island and even into southeastern Alaska, but Cape Scott may be considered to be the usual limit. Others are the silvery hatchetfish, Argyropelecus sladeni; the whale-sucker, Remilegia australis; the white croaker, Genyonemus lineatus; the albacore, Thunnus alalunga; the bluefin tuna, T. saliens; the skipjack, Katsuwonus pelamis; the pompano, Palometa simillima; and the barracuda, Sphyraena argentea. On the west coast of Vancouver Island the following bottom forms, hitherto considered as distinctly southern in distribution, have been found, namely, the deepsea sole, Embassichthys bathybius; the warty poacher, Occa verrucosa; the striped kelpfish, Gibbonsia metzi; the crevice kelpfish, G. montereyensis; and the kelp clingfish, Rimicola muscarum. During the past few years some unusual fishes known mostly from other oceans have been found off our coast. Among these are the daggertooth, Anotop- terus pharao; the manefish, Caristius macropus; the coster dory, Allocyttus ver- rucosus; the boarfish, Pseudopentaceros richardsoni; and the squaretail, Tetra- gonurus cuvieri from near surface collections; and the bottom-living roughscale sole, Clidoderma asperrimum, best known in Japanese waters. Several unique fishes living at great depths along the coast have become known as the result of the voyages of the Albatross and the International Pacific Halibut 8 Commission's vessels. Among these may be mentioned the deepsea skate, Raja abyssicola, from 1588 fathoms off the Queen Charlotte Islands; the barreleye, Macropinna microstoma, 487 fathoms; the abyssal liparid, Careproctus ovigerum and the cuskpout, Derepodichthys alepidotus, both taken with R. abyssicola; and the dreamer, Oneirodes bulbosus, from over 379 fathoms. Four species have been introduced from eastern points: the shad, Alosa sapidissima, in 1871 into the Sacramento and Columbia Rivers, reaching Canadian waters off Vancouver Island in 1876; the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, in 1905 and subsequently; the brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, in 1908 and later; the brown trout, Salmo trutta, in 1932, 1933 and 1934. The latter three species have been liberated in lakes and streams on Vancouver Island but only the brown trout has been taken in salt water. Twenty-three fishes were first captured in British Columbia waters, which are the type localities for the species, as follows: Raja abyssicola, Macropinna microstoma, Chauliodus macouni, Coryphaenoides cyclolepis, C. filifera and C. acrolepis, Zaprora silent's, Triglops macellus, Radulinus taylori, Psychrolutes paradoxus, Rhamphocottus richardsoni, Synchirus gilli, Anoplagonus inermis, Eumicrotremus orbis, Liparis cyclopus, Polypera greeni, Careproctus ovigerttm, Coryphopterus nicholsii, Clevelandia ios, Allolumpenus hypochromus, Bothrocara molle, Derepodichthys alepidotus, and Oneirodes bulbosus. The following have been found only in these waters: the deepsea skate, Raja abyssicola; the smooth- scale rattail, Coryphaenoides filifera; the spinynose sculpin, Radulinus taylori; the abyssal liparid, Careproctus ovigerum; the cuskpout, Derepodichthys alepidotus; and the dreamer,

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