Spanish ling

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Spanish ling
Molva macrophthalma.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gadiformes
Family: Lotidae
Genus: Molva
Species:
M. macrophthalma
Binomial name
Molva macrophthalma
(Rafinesque, 1810)
Synonyms [2]
  • Phycis macrophthalmusRafinesque, 1810
  • Gadus elongatusOtto, 1821
  • Lota elongataOtto, 1821
  • Lotta elongataOtto, 1821
  • Molva dipterygia elongataOtto, 1821
  • Molva dypterygia macrophthalmaRafinesque, 1810
  • Molva elongataOtto, 1821

The Spanish ling (Molva macrophthalma), also called the Mediterranean ling and even blue ling [1] [3] (though the latter is also used for Molva dypterygia ), is a species of fish in the family Lotidae. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Description

It maximum length is 108 cm (3.54 ft). [3]

Habitat

Spanish ling lives in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and western Mediterranean; [1] [3] it is common in the Azores. It lives at moderate shallow waters, [4] being recorded at depths of 388–754 m (1,273–2,474 ft) in the Ionian Sea, and has also been found in the Aegean Sea. [5] [6]

Behaviour

It feeds on bony fish, squid and lobsters. [7] [8] Known parasites include Lernaeocera copepods. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Nedreaas, K.; Nielsen, J.; Cook, R.; Fernandes, P.; Florin, A.; Lorance, P. (2014). "Molva macrophthalma". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T198592A45132502. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T198592A45132502.en . Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Molva macrophthalma (Rafinesque, 1810)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Molva macrophthalma". FishBase . February 2022 version.
  4. Burton, Maurice; Burton, Robert (July 2, 2002). International Wildlife Encyclopedia: Leopard - marten. Marshall Cavendish. ISBN   9780761472667 via Google Books.
  5. Bayhan, Yusuf Kenan; Erguden, Deniz; Alagoz Erguden, Sibel; Altun, Ayhan (April 1, 2019). "First Substantiated Record of Molva macrophthalma (Rafinesque, 1810) in Southern Aegean Sea, Turkey" . Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences. 35 (1): 271–274. doi:10.1007/s41208-018-0119-5. S2CID   134789338 via Springer Link.
  6. "Molva macrophthalma (Rafinesque, 1810)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility .
  7. "Blue Ling and Spanish Ling | Britishseafishing.co.uk". March 16, 2013.
  8. "Food Items - Molva macrophthalma". www.fishbase.se.
  9. Quigley, Declan T. G.; Declan MacGabhann; Douglas Herdson (2014). "Spanish or Mediterranean ling Molva macrophthalma (Rafinesque, 1810) in Irish and UK waters: further records and a review of records". Porcupine Marine Natural History Society Bulletin. 1: 33–35.