Spanish ling

Spanish ling
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
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]}

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. 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. "Molva macrophthalma (Rafinesque, 1810)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2 May 2022.
3. 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   978-0-7614-7266-7 – 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.