Champsocephalus esox

The pike icefish, Champsocephalus esox, is a species of crocodile icefish found at depths of 50–250 m (160–820 ft) in the oceans off Patagonia, the Falklands and rarely South Georgia.[1][2]It is a demersal species that reaches 35 cm (14 in) in length and mainly feeds on fishes and krill.[1] A South Georgian study in 1981 collected a specimen with stomach contents of 90% krill (Euphasia superba) and 10% fish. This species has a whitish body, dark brown caudal fins, and dark brown bars (sometimes forming irregular dark blotches connected with yellowish regions) with no scales except on its lateral line.[2]It is of minor importance to commercial fisheries, with catches in 2008 amounting to a total of 90 tonnes.[3] The fish are trawled from January to March, but none are caught in the winter.[2] It is the only species of crocodile icefish found north of the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone, with only 3 specimens reported south of the CCALMR　area．[2]

Champsocephalus esox
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Suborder:	Notothenioidei
Family:	Channichthyidae
Genus:	Champsocephalus
Species:	C. esox
Binomial name
Champsocephalus esox (Günther, 1861)
Synonyms
Chaenichthys esox Günther, 1861

References

1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Champsocephalus esox" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
2. Gon, Ofer; Heemstra, Philip C. (1990). Fishes of the Southern Ocean. Grahamstown, South Africa: J.L.B.Smith Institute of Ichthyology. p. 384.
3. "FAO Catches List". www.fishbase.se. Retrieved 2020-08-21.