About Ronquilus jordani (Gilbert, 1889)
The northern ronquil, Ronquilus jordani, is a small, cylindrical fish with a brown to gray head marked by two yellow bands on the cheek. Its body is gray, with dark spots located near its pale or pale-yellow fins. This species can be told apart from other members of the Bathymaster family by the presence of cheek scales and the absence of certain features in its cephalic lateralis system. The maximum published total length for this species is 20 cm (7.9 in).
Northern ronquil are found in the northern Pacific Ocean, ranging from Unimak Pass in the eastern Aleutian Islands south to southern California, though they are considered rare off the coast of California. Reports of this species from other areas of the northern Pacific have yet to be verified. Adult northern ronquil are primarily benthic bottom-dwellers that live along rocky continental shelves and in upper slope waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Larvae and juveniles, by contrast, are neustonic and live in waters closer to the surface. This habitat difference is thought to be beneficial, as warmer surface water supports faster growth and shallower depths have lower predation pressure. The life cycle and habitat preferences of the northern ronquil are currently the subject of ongoing research.
