Emerald rockcod

Last updated

Emerald rockcod
Trematomus bernacchii.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Nototheniidae
Genus: Trematomus
Species:
T. bernacchii
Binomial name
Trematomus bernacchii
Boulenger, 1902
Synonyms
  • Notothenia bernacchii(Boulenger, 1902)
  • Pagothenia bernacchii(Boulenger, 1902)
  • Pseudotrematomus bernacchii(Boulenger, 1902)

The emerald rockcod (Trematomus bernacchii), also known as the emerald notothen is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean where it is a commercially important species. [1]

Contents

Emerald rockcod Nototheniidae - Trematomus bernacchii.JPG
Emerald rockcod

Taxonomy

The Emerald rockcod was first formally described in 1902 by the Belgian-born British ichthyologist George Albert Boulenger with the type localities given as Cape Adare in Antarctica at a depth of 5-8 fathoms and Duke of York Island at a depth of 3-4 fathoms. [2] In 1982 the Russian ichthyologist Arkady Vladimirovich Balushkin placed this species, and all the other species in its genus bar the type species, T. newnesi , in the new genus Pseudotrematomus but this has not been widely accepted. [3] The specific name honours the Australian Australian physicist and astronomer Louis Bernacchi who carried out much of the exploring and collecting of specimens during the Southern Cross Expedition, on which the type was collected. [4]

Description

This species is mostly brown in color with darker spots. The first dorsal fin contains 4-6 spines, the second dorsal fin has 34-39 soft rays and the anal fin has 31-35 soft rays. Females of this species can reach a length of 35 cm (14 in), while males only reach 28 cm (11 in). The maximum reported age for this species is 10 years. [1]

Distribution, habitat, and habits

This species is native to the Southern Ocean [1] on the seafloor at depths from very shallow waters to 700 m (2,300 ft). It is adapted to living in waters of extremely low temperature (-1.86 °C mean temperature in McMurdo Sound). It consumes various invertebrates and small fishes and also is known to feed on some algae. [1] Their foraging techniques make them the primary predators of the medium-sized population of the Antarctic scallop, Adamussium colbecki . [5]

Physiological adaptations for cold

Unlike most organisms, the emerald rockcod does not show a typical heat shock response; for example, it does not upregulate the heat shock protein gene hsp70 when in warm temperatures. [6] Instead, upregulation of hsp70 is more prominent when it is in its normal temperature environment. [6] Although normally hsp70 is an inducible gene, this gene was found to be expressed at all times in emerald rockcod. A constitutive heat shock gene hsc71 showed the same pattern of expression, and so it was deduced that in the emerald rockcod hsp70 was also being expressed as a constitutive gene. [7] Low temperatures in its Antarctic habitat may cause cellular stress that can denature the cellular proteins of these fish, making it necessary to express high constitutive levels of heat shock proteins.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nototheniidae</span> Family of fishes

Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes, is a family of ray-finned fishes, part of the suborder Notothenioidei which is traditionally placed within the order Perciformes. They are largely found in the Southern Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic silverfish</span> Species of fish

The Antarctic silverfish, or Antarctic herring, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean and the only truly pelagic fish in the waters near Antarctica. It is a keystone species in the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bovichtidae</span> Family of fishes

Bovichtidae, the temperate icefishes or thornfishes, is a family of marine ray-finned fishes, classified in the suborder Notothenioidei of the order Perciformes. They are native to coastal waters off Australia, New Zealand, and South America.

The bald notothen, also known as the bald rockcod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean.

<i>Notothenia</i> Genus of fishes

Notothenia is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes with the species in this genus often having the common name of rockcod. They are native to the Southern Ocean and other waters around Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Painted notie</span> Species of fish

The painted notie, or painted notothen, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean.

<i>Pagothenia</i> Genus of fishes

Pagothenia is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. These fishes occur in the Southern Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic scallop</span> Genus of bivalves

The Antarctic scallop is a species of bivalve mollusc in the large family of scallops, the Pectinidae. It was thought to be the only species in the genus Adamussium until an extinct Pliocene species was described in 2016. Its exact relationship to other members of the Pectinidae is unclear. It is found in the ice-cold seas surrounding Antarctica, sometimes at great depths.

<i>Trematomus</i> Genus of fishes

Trematomus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. These fishes occur in the Southern Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longfin icedevil</span> Species of fish

The longfin icedevil, also known as the threadfin pinhead, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean where it can be found at depths down to 850 metres (2,790 ft). This species grows to a length of 42 centimetres (17 in) TL. This species is the only known member of its genus and is of no interest to commercial fisheries.

<i>Gobionotothen</i> Genus of fishes

Gobionotothen is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. They are native to the Southern Ocean.

<i>Gvozdarus</i> Genus of fishes

Gvozdarus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey rockcod</span> Species of fish

The grey rockcod, also known as the grey notothen, stripe-eyes notothen or stripe-eyed rockcod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean. The grey rockcod feeds mainly on macrozooplankton and is of minor importance to commercial fisheries. It is the only species in the genus Lepidonotothen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toad notie</span> Species of fish

The toad notie, or toad notothen, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean.

<i>Patagonotothen</i> Genus of fishes

Patagonotothen is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. They are native to the southeast Pacific Ocean, southern Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean.

<i>Notothenia coriiceps</i> Species of fish

Notothenia coriiceps, also known as the black rockcod, Antarctic yellowbelly rockcod, or Antarctic bullhead notothen, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is widely spread around the Antarctic continent. Like other Antarctic notothenioid fishes, N. coriiceps evolved in the stable, ice-cold environment of the Southern Ocean. It is not currently targeted by commercial fisheries.

<i>Cryodraco atkinsoni</i> Species of crocodile icefish

Cryodraco atkinsoni is a bathydemersal species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Channichthyidae, the crocodile icefishes. It is endemic to the waters of the eastern part of the Southern Ocean.

<i>Lindbergichthys nudifrons</i> Species of fish

Lindbergichthys nudifrons, the yellowfin rockcod, also known as the yellow notie or the gaudy notothen, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean.

Gobionotothen acuta, the triangular rockcod or the triangular notothen, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, the Heard Islands and the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stocky rockcod</span> Species of ray-finned fish

The stocky rockcod, also known as the bandtail notothen, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is found in the Southern Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2014). "Trematomus bernacchii" in FishBase . February 2014 version.
  2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Trematomus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  3. H.H. Dewitt; P.C. Heemstra; and O. Gon (1990). "Nototheniidae Notothens". In O. Gon and P.C. Heemstra (eds.). Fishes of the Southern Ocean. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. ISBN   9780868102115.
  4. 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 3 October 2021.
  5. Ombretta Dell’Acqua; Thomas Brey; Marino Vacchi & Mariachiara Chiantore (2017). "Predation Impact of the Notothenioid Fish Trematomus bernacchii on the Size Structure of the Scallop Adamussium colbecki in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica)" (PDF). Polar Biology. 40 (8): 1557–1568. doi:10.1007/s00300-017-2077-4. S2CID   21243237.
  6. 1 2 Place, Sean P.; Hofmann, Gretchen E. (March 2005). "Constitutive expression of a stress-inducible heat shock protein gene, hsp70, in phylogenetically distant Antarctic fish". Polar Biology. 28 (4): 261–267. doi:10.1007/s00300-004-0697-y. ISSN   0722-4060. S2CID   18561415.
  7. Place, Sean P.; Zippay, Mackenzie L.; Hofmann, Gretchen E. (August 2004). "Constitutive roles for inducible genes: evidence for the alteration in expression of the inducible hsp70 gene in Antarctic notothenioid fishes". American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 287 (2): R429–R436. doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00223.2004. ISSN   0363-6119. PMID   15117724.