Sebastes goodei, the chilipepper rockfish and chilipepper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. This species lives mainly off the coast of western North America from Baja California to Vancouver.
Sebastes goodei was first formally described in 1890 as Sebastodes goodei by the American ichthyologists Carl H. Eigenmann and Rosa Smith Eigenmann with the type locality given as Point Loma, California. Some authorities classify this species in the subgenus Sebastodes. The specific name honors George Brown Goode, director of the United States National Museum.
The body of Sebastes goodei is slender and rather elongate. The head is elongate, pointed and with no spines; the lower jaw is projecting. The adult fish is generally pinkish-red becoming whitish below with pink fins. Juveniles are light olive on back. The middle of the chillipepper's side, the lateral line, stands out clearly, as a lighter, bright red zone. In comparison to the bocaccio, it has a smaller mouth with an upper jaw that extends only to about the center of the eye, not past it. Chilipeppers may live to be 35 years old. The record length is 22 inches (56 cm), and weight is 5.25 pounds.
Sebastes goodei is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean along the western coast of North America from Queen Charlotte Sound in British Columbia south to Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur. The adults are demersal fish and can be found on rocky reefs, and also on sand and mud substrates in deepwater while the young are pelagic and live shallower water. The depth range of this species is .
Sebastes goodei adults are either solitary or live in small groups. They feed on krill, small squid and smaller fishes. Approximately 50 percent of the males mature when 8.75 inches long and 2 years old; while 50 percent of the females are mature when they are 12 inches long and 4 years old. Chili peppers may live to be at least 16 years old. As with other rockfishes, fertilization is internal and live young are born.
