Antarctic silverfish

The Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica) is a species of notothen native to the Southern Ocean and the only truly pelagic fish in the waters near Antarctica.[3] It is a keystone species in the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.[4]

Antarctic silverfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Suborder:
Notothenioidei
Family:
Nototheniidae
Genus:
Pleuragramma

Boulenger, 1902
Species:
P. antarctica
Binomial name
Pleuragramma antarctica

While widely distributed around the Antarctic, the species appears to have largely disappeared from the western side of the northern Antarctic Peninsula, based on a 2010 research cruise funded by the National Science Foundation under the US Antarctic Program.[5]

Description

Antarctic silverfish usually grow to about 15 cm (5.9 in) in length, with a maximum of 25 cm (9.8 in). The maximum reported weight of this species is 200 g. Antarctic silverfish have a maximum reported age of 20 years. When alive, they are pink with a silver tint, but turn silver only after death. All the fins are pale. The dorsal side is slightly darker.[3] This Antarctic marine fish is one of several in the region that produce antifreeze glycopeptides as an adaptation against the extreme cold of Antarctic waters.[6]

Ecology

The postlarvae, 8–17 mm (0.31–0.67 in) in size, feed on eggs of calanoids (Calanoida), sea snails Limacina and tintinnids (Tintinnida).[7] The postlarvae live at depths of up to 135 m.[3] Juveniles feeds on copepods (Copepoda), mostly on Oncaea curvata and can be found at depths of 50 to 400 m (165 to 1340 ft). [7] [3]As their size increases, so do the size of their prey items. Mature females may spawn for the first time at 7-9 years of age.[3]

The adults of this species can be found at depths 0-728 m.[3]

Antarctic silverfish are an important prey species for high trophic animals, such as the Adelie penguin and the Weddell seal.

Antarctic Silverfish are the most abundant pelagic fish species in the High Antarctic shelf waters of the Southern Ocean [8] and are sought out as prey as they represent high caloric prey items for Adelie penguins, marine flying birds, and Weddell seal.

References
  1. Gon, O. & Vacchi, M. 2010. . In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. <www.iucnredlist.org Archived June 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine>. Downloaded on 29 March 2019.
  2. Boulenger G. A. (1902). Rep. Voy. Southern Cross, p. 187.
  3. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2009). "Pleuragramma antarctica" in FishBase. February 2009 version.
  4. Bottaro M., Oliveri D., Ghigliotti L., Pisano E., Ferrando S. & Vacchi M. (2009). "Born among the ice: first morphological observations on two developmental stages of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum, a key species of the Southern Ocean". Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 19(2); 249-259. doi:10.1007/s11160-009-9106-5.
  5. "Climate change may be to blame for disappearance of Antarctic silverfish". The Antarctic Sun.
  6. A. P. Wohrmann (1995). "Antifreeze glycopeptides in the high-Antarctic Silverfish Pleurogramma antarcticum (Notothenioidei)". Comp. Biochem. Physiol. C. Toxicol. Endocrinol. 111 (1): 121–9. doi:10.1016/0742-8413(95)00007-T. PMID 7656179.
  7. Granata, A.; Zagami, G.; Vacchi, M.; Guglielmo, L. (2009). "Summer and spring trophic niche of larval and juvenile Pleuragramma antarcticum in the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica". Polar Biology. 32 (3): 369–382. doi:10.1007/s00300-008-0551-8. S2CID 8212285.
  8. Carlig, E., Di Blasi, D., Ghigliotti, L. et al. Diversified feeding strategies of Pleuragramma antarctica (Nototheniidae) in the Southern Ocean. Polar Biol 42, 2045–2054 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02579-0
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