Cryodraco atkinsoni explained

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.

Taxonomy

Cryodraco atkinsoni was first formally described in 1914 by the English ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan with the type locality given as the Ross Sea in the Southern Ocean where it had been collected by the Terra Nova Expedition. Some authorities treat this taxon as a synonym of C. antarcticus.[1] However, recent morphological and molecular analyses have found that this species is a distinct species from C. anatarcticus.[2] The specific name honours Edward Leicester Atkinson who was the surgeon on the Terra Nova Expedition.[3]

Description

Cryodraco atkinsoni has up to 10 dark bars on each side of its body with dark spots present on its head, and is distinguished from congener Cryodraco antarcticus by being much smaller having a maximum total length of compared to maximum total length of . The first dorsal fin is blackish and the dusky-colored pelvic fins are elongated.[4] The dorsal fins contain 3 spines and 42 soft rays while the anal fin has 46 soft rays.

Distribution, habitat and biology

Cryodraco atkinsoni is found in the Southern Ocean where it confined to the waters of the eastern Antarctic.[5] It is a bathydemersal species which is found as deep as . This predatory species feeds on fishes and krill.[4]

Fisheries

Cryodraco atkinsoni is of no importance to commercial fisheries.

Notes and References

  1. Book: O. Gon . P.C. Heemstra . and . 1990 . Fishes of the Southern Ocean . T. Iwami . K-H Koch . South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity . 9780868102115 . Channicthyidae Icefishes .
  2. Alex Dornburg . Ron I. Eytan . Sarah Federman . Jillian N. Pennington . Andrew L. Stewart . Christopher D. Jones . Thomas J. Near . 3 . 2016 . Molecular data support the existence of two species of the Antarctic fish genus Cryodraco (Channichthyidae) . Polar Biology . 39 . 1369–1379 . 10.1007/s00300-015-1859-9.
  3. Web site: Order Perciformes: Suborder Notothenoididei: Families Bovichtidae, Pseaudaphritidae, Elegopinidae, Nototheniidae, Harpagiferidae, Artedidraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae and Percophidae . The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database . Christopher Scharpf . Kenneth J. Lazara . amp . 12 April 2021 . 25 October 2021 . Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara.
  4. Book: Miller, Robert G.. History and Atlas of the Fishes of the Southern Ocean. Foresta Institute. 1993. Nevada, USA. 792.
  5. La Mesa, Mario . Vacchi, Marino . Iwami, Tetsuo . Eastman, Joseph . amp . 2002 . Taxonomic studies of the Antarctic icefish genus Cryodraco Dollo, 1900 (Notothenioidei: Channichthyidae) . Polar Biology . 25 . 384-390 . 10.1007/s00300-002-0358-y.