Teleostei (teleosts) >
Acropomatiformes (Oceanic basses) >
Stereolepididae (Giant seabasses)
Etymology: Stereolepis: Greek, stereos = dense + Greek,lepis = scale (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Gigas was a giant in Greek mythology, the child of Uranus and Gaea. The name is applied to taxa that are giants of their kind. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Ayres.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 5 - 46 m (Ref. 2850). Subtropical; 41°N - 16°N
Eastern Pacific: Humboldt Bay in California, USA to Mexico. Northwest Pacific: Japan (Ref. 559).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 250 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); max. published weight: 255.6 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 75 years (Ref. 4563)
Occur on rock bottoms; near shore, outside kelp beds and along drop-offs (Ref. 2850). Large specimens usually found deeper than 30 m, small ones over sand and in kelp beds mostly from 12-21 m (Ref. 2850). Aggregate for spawning in summer (Ref. 2850). Pelagic spawners (Ref. 56049). Longevity of 90 to 100 years (Ref. 56049) stemmed from speculation on the age of a 557 lb fish caught in 1962, but the oldest age determined from otoliths of a 435 lb fish was 72 to75 years (Ref. 4563). Validated age so far is up to >50 years using bomb radiocarbon (A.H. Andrews, pers. comm.)
Pelagic spawner (Ref. 56049).
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p. (Ref. 2850)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
Tools
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