Sebastes levis, Cowcod : fisheries, gamefish

Sebastes levis (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1889)

Cowcod
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Sebastes levis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Sebastes levis (Cowcod)
Sebastes levis
Picture by Love, M.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Scorpaenoidei (Scorpionfishes) > Sebastidae (Rockfishes, rockcods and thornyheads) > Sebastinae
Etymology: Sebastes: Greek, sebastes = august, venerable (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Eigenmann & Eigenmann.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 20 - 500 m (Ref. 49962), usually 90 - 300 m (Ref. 49962). Deep-water; 40°N - 27°N, 125°W - 113°W

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Central Pacific: Usal, Mendocino County in central California, USA to central Baja California and Guadalupe Island (off north central Baja California) in Mexico.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 39.3, range 42 - 52 cm
Max length : 100.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 49962); max. published weight: 13.0 kg (Ref. 2850); max. reported age: 55 years (Ref. 49962)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 13 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 13; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 6 - 7; Vertebrae: 26. Branchiostegal rays: 7 (Ref. 36715).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on the bottom at moderate depths, to 366 m (Ref. 2850). Juveniles are pelagic (Ref. 36715), over fine sand and clay, whereas adults (>44 cm TL) inhabit rocky areas at 90-300 m (Ref. 49962). Viviparous, with planktonic larvae (Ref. 36715).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Viviparous (Ref. 36715, 34817).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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 2025-2 (Global))

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
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Predators
Ecology
Ecology
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Maturity/Gills rel.
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OceanAdapt | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.01023 (0.00559 - 0.01873), b=3.09 (2.93 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		3.9   ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Generation time 21.0 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (tm=11-12; tmax=55; K=0.05).
Rate of population increase Prior r = 0.28, 95% CL = 0.18 - 0.41, Based on 2 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		High to very high vulnerability (70 of 100). 🛈
Price category
(Ref. 80766) 		Medium.