| Lycodes vahlii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Zoarcidae |
| Genus: | Lycodes |
| Species: | L. vahlii |
| Binomial name | |
| Lycodes vahlii Reinhardt, 1831 | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Lycodes vahlii, Vahl's eelpout or the checker eelpout, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is native to coasts of Northern Atlantic Ocean.
Lycodes vahlii was first formally described in 1831 by the Norwegian zoologist Johannes Christopher Hagemann Reinhardt with its type locality given as Julianehåb in Greenland. [2] When Reinhardt described this species he classified it within a new monospecific genus, Lycodes , although many species have subsequently been included in this genus and L. vahlii is the type species of Lycodes and thus of the subfamily Lycodinae. [3] The specific name honours the Danish botanist and pharmacist Jens Laurentius Moestue Vahl, [4] who gave his collection of plant and fish specimens to the University of Copenhagen, where Reinhardt held the post of Professor of Zoology. [5] Lycodes gracilis of the eastern Atlantic was considered to be conspecific with L. vahli but is now treated as a separate species, the common name Vahl's eelpout being applied to this species by some authorities. [6]
Lycodes vahlii varies in color from olive green to dark brown, paler on the belly, with between 5 and 12 dark bands on the body which continue onto the dorsal fin. The front bands are frequently notably darker than the rear bands. The inside of the mouth and the peritoneum are brown. It has an elongate body which has a depth at the origin of the anal fin 7% to 11% of the total length and it has a long tail with the distance from the snout to the origin of the anal fin being36& to 44% of the total length. The head is moderately long and its length is between 15% and 24% of the total length. The rather short and rounded pectoral fins have between 18 and 20 fin rays and their length is equivalent tp between 89% and 15% of the total length. The lateral line runs close to the anal fin. There are small pores on the head and there is a dense covering of scales on the body, including the abdomen, but on the forward parts of the bases of the dorsal, anal and pectoral fins are naked. The teeth are blunt. The maximum published total length is 57 cm (22 in) but it is typically between 35 and 40 cm (14 and 16 in). [7]
Lycodes vahlii is found in the western Atlantic and nearby Arctic Oceans off eastern Canada and western Greenland. It is an epibenthic to mesobenthic species which lives on soft substrates at depths between 39 and 1,200 m (128 and 3,937 ft) where the water temperature is 1.4 to 5.8 °C (34.5 to 42.4 °F). Specimens are rarely taken from depths of less than 200 m (660 ft) although in the Gulf of St. Lawrence it is found at between 100 and 300 m (330 and 980 ft). [7]
Lycodes vahlii hunts prey within the substrate, shrimp and krill becoming more important prey items as the size of the fish increases. The females lay large eggs, with a diameter 6 mm (0.24 in), onto the substrate. [1]
Bothrocara is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. They are found in the Pacific Ocean with one species reaching the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.
Lycodes is a genus of zoarcid fish in the subfamily Lycodinae. It is the most species-rich genus in its taxonomic family as well as in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent waters. They occupy both shallow waters and deeper waters down to 3000 meters. A few species can occur in brackish waters.
Lycodichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. They are found in the Southern Ocean.
Lycenchelys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution.
The snubnose eelpout is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. This species is found in the deep waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Gymnelinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Most species are found in the North Pacific Ocean but one genus is cosmopolitan, and another is endemic to the Southern Ocean.
Lycodinae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. These eelpouts are found are in all the world's oceans, with a number of species being found off southern South America.
Austrolycus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The two species in this genus are found in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and the western South Atlantic Ocean off southern South America and the Falkland Islands.
Bellingshausenia is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is Bellingshausenia olasoi which is only known from the Bellingshausen Sea in the Southern Ocean.
The cuskpout is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Derepodichthys and is found in the eastern North Pacific Ocean.
Japonolycodes is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The only species in the genus is Japonolycodes abei. This species is found Northwestern Pacific Ocean off Japan.
Lycenchelys muraena, the moray wolf eel, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is found in the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans.
Lycodapus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The species in this genus are found in the Pacific and Southern Oceans.
Lycodes gracilis, Vahl's eelpout or the gracile eelpout, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is found in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent areas of the Arctic Ocean.
Lycodes esmarkii, Esmark's eelpout or the greater eelpout, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. This species is found in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Lycodonus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. The species in this genus are found in the North and Southern Atlantic Ocean. These fishes are sometimes called scutepouts.
Lycogrammoides is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. Its only species is Lycogrammoides schmidti, a rare species of the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The bearded eelpout is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. This species is the only species in the monospecific genus Lyconema. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Lycozoarces is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts, its only species being Lycozoarces regani. It is the only genus in the monogeneric subfamily Lycozoarinae. This taxon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Tatar Strait in the northern Sea of Japan
The Arctic staghorn sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This sculpin is found in the Arctic Ocean and the northern Atlantic Ocean.
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