Arctogadus
| Arctogadus glacialis | |
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| Scientific classification | |
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| Genus: | Arctogadus Dryagin, 1932
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| Species: | A. glacialis
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| Binomial name | |
| Arctogadus glacialis (W. K. H. Peters, 1872)
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Arctogadus borisovi Dryagin, 1932 | |
Arctogadus glacialis, known as the Arctic cod[1][2] or as the polar cod,[1][3] is an Arctic species of fish in the cod family Gadidae, related to the true cod (genus Gadus).
Names
Apart from Arctic cod and polar cod, the fish has been called Greenland cod[citation needed]. Note, however, that all these common names are also used for other Arctic gadid species: both "Arctic cod" and "polar cod" are used for Boreogadus saida, while "Greenland cod" most commonly refers to the species Gadus ogac.
Another Arctic gadid, the East Siberian cod (Arctogadus borisovi), which was until recently considered the closest relative of A. glacialis, has been found not to be distinct from it at all, but should be included in the same species. Arctogadus is thus a monotypic genus. However, it is a close relative of Boreogadus, and should perhaps be included in that genus.[4]
Appearance
Arctic cod is silvery in appearance and can grow up to a length of 32.5 centimetres (12.8 in) TL. It lacks the chin barbels of other cod species (or this barbel is small). In contradicting the aforementioned, we are currently catching this species during fishing derbies here in Nunavut upwards of 27 inches in length. Please refer to spring issues of Kivalliq Arctic News for reference.
Distribution
The Arctic cod is widely distributed in the western part of the Arctic basin, also the northwest and northeast coasts of Greenland. Its range is between 85° and 72° north latitude. Arctic cod can be found at depths of up to 1000 m, and frequently under ice.
Fishes earlier attributed to the East Siberian cod are found off the western half of the Canadian coast and the coasts of Siberia and also off northern and southern coasts of Greenland. The fish prefers living close to the sea floor at depths of 15 to 40 m, but it sometimes enters estuaries. They may also be found under pack ice.
The species is of minor commercial value.
Diet
Arctogadus glacialis in an ice-free area off NE Greenland were found to feed almost exclusively on pelagic prey (primarily copepods, amphipods and mysids).[5]
References
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Arctogadus glacialis". FishBase. April 2012 version.
- ^ Gadiform fishes of the World (Order Gadiformes) An annotated and illustrated catalogue of Cods, Hakes, Grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Volume 10. 1990.
- ^ Polar Cod University of Guelph.
- ^ Jordan, AD; Møller, PR; Nielsen, JG (2003). "Revision of the Arctic cod genus Arctogadus". Journal of Fish Biology. 62: 1339–1352. doi:10.1007/s00300-001-0348-5. CiteSeerx: 10.1.1.1.3927.
- ^ Süfke, Lis; Piepenburg, Dieter; von Dorrien, Christian F. (1998). "Body size, sex ratio and diet composition of Arctogadus glacialis (Peters, 1874) (Pisces: Gadidae) in the Northeast Water Polynya (Greenland)". Polar Biology. 20: 357–363. doi:10.1007/s003000050314.