Arctogadus glacialis

Arctogadus glacialis, known as the Arctic cod^[1][2] or as the polar cod,^[1][3] is an Arctic species of deepwater 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.^[4]

Appearance

Arctic cod is silvery in appearance and can grow up to 30 cm in length. It lacks the chin barbels of other cod species (or this barbel is small).

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.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Arctogadus glacialis" in FishBase. April 2006 version.
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ Polar Cod University of Guelph.
4. ^ Jordan AD, Møller PR, Nielsen JG (2003) Revision of the Arctic cod genus Arctogadus. Journal of Fish Biology 62:1339–1352.