Notothenia microlepidota

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Notothenia microlepidota
Notothenia microlepidota (Black cod).gif
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Nototheniidae
Genus: Notothenia
Species:
N. microlepidota
Binomial name
Notothenia microlepidota
Hutton, 1875
Synonyms[1]
  • Paranotothenia microlepidota (Hutton, 1875)

Notothenia microlepidota, the black cod or small-scaled cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Pacific waters around New Zealand and Macquarie Island. This species can reach a total length of 70 cm (28 in). It is a commercially important species.

Taxonomy[]

Notothenia microlepidota was first formally described in 1875 by the English-born New Zealand scientist Frederick Wollaston Hutton with the type locality given as Dunedin and Dunedin and Moeraki in New Zealand.[2] The specific name microlepidota means "small scaled" which is though to be a reference to its small, numerous scales when compared to N. angustata which Woolaston described in the same paper.[3]

Description[]

Notothenia microlepidota juveniles have a silvery appearance and their caudal fin is clearly forked. The adults have a less obviously forked caudal fin. The colour of the body is silver, yellow and reddish-brown. The body is covered in very small scales and there are two lateral lines which have a considerable overlap.[4] The shortbased first dorsal fin has 6-7 spines, the second dorsal fin has 27-28 soft rays while the has 23-24 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 70 cm (28 in).[1]

Distribution and habitat[]

Notothenia microlepidota is restricted to New Zealand and Macquarie Island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.[1] They have been found in depths of a few metres off Campbell Island and have been trawled at 1,000 m (3,300 ft) offshore.[5]

Biology[]

In the Campbell Plateau, salps are the most important prey, followed by amphipods(particularly ) and percophidids. Crabs such as the portunid crab are also important prey. These prey items imply benthic feeding habits, typical for notothenids.[6]

Being a subantarctic species, the black cod has special adaptations such as antifreeze proteins in its blood, as well as adipose tissues to offset its lack of a swim bladder, giving it neutral buoyancy.[7][8] The sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria, is occasionally called black cod, as well, but it is not a true cod. In New Zealand, the Maori cod is also known as "black cod". They are a common prey item of seals.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Notothenia microlepiota" in FishBase. June 2021 version.
  2. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Notothenia". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 April 2021). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Notothenoididei: Families Bovichtidae, Pseaudaphritidae, Elegopinidae, Nototheniidae, Harpagiferidae, Artedidraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae and Percophidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Fish, Small Scaled Black Cod". Marine Life Database. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  5. ^ McMillan, P.J.; Francis, M.P.; Paul, L.J.; et al. (2011). New Zealand fishes. Volume 1: A field guide to common species caught by bottom and midwater fishing. New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report. 68. p. 247.
  6. ^ Malcolm R. Clark (1985). "The food and feeding of seven fish species from the Campbell Plateau, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 19 (3): 339–363. doi:10.1080/00288330.1985.9516100.
  7. ^ Zulema L. Coppes Petricorena; George N. Somero (2006). "Biochemical adaptations of notothenioid fishes: Comparisons between cold temperate South American and New Zealand species and Antarctic species". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A. 147: 799–807. doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2006.09.028.
  8. ^ Joseph T. Eastman and Arthur L. DeVries (1982). "Buoyancy Studies of Notothenioid Fishes in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica". Copeia. 1982 (2): 385–393. doi:10.2307/1444619.
  • Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
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