In the north Pacific _Sebastes_ gives place to _Sebastolobus_, with three species (_macrochir_, _altivelis_, and _alascanus_), all bright-red fishes of soft substance and living in rather deep water. _Sebastolobus_ is characterized by its two-lobed pectoral fin, the lower rays being enlarged. The genus _Sebastodes_, with its rougher-headed ally _Sebastichthys_, with 13 dorsal spines and the vertebræ 27, ranges farther south than _Sebastes_ and forms one of the most characteristic features of the fauna of California and Japan, 50 species occurring about California and 25 being already known from Japan. One species (_Sebastichthys capensis_) is recorded from the Cape of Good Hope, and two, _Sebastichthys oculatus_ and _S. darwini_, from the coast of Chile. Within the limits of _Sebastodes_ and _Sebastichthys_ is a very large range of form and color, far more than should exist within the range of a natural genus. On the other hand, all attempts at generic subdivision have failed because the species form a number of almost perfectly continuous series. At one extreme are species with large mouths, small scales, relatively smooth cranium, and long gill-rakers. At the other extreme are robust species, with the head very rough, the mouth moderate, the scales larger, and the gill-rakers short and thick. Still other species have slender cranial spines and spots of bright pink in certain specialized localities. These approach the genus _Helicolenus_ as other species approach _Scorpæna_. [Illustration: FIG. 368.—Priest-fish, _Sebastodes mystinus_ Jordan & Gilbert. Monterey, Cal. ]