Channichthys irinae
Channichthys irinae, the pygmy icefish, is a species of crocodile icefish endemic to the Kerguelen Islands in the Southern Ocean. It is a demersal species living at depths of 165 to 310 m (540 to 1,020 ft).[1] This species mainly feeds on pelagic zooplankton and is of no interest to commercial fisheries.[2]
| Channichthys irinae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Illustration of the holotype | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Channichthyidae |
| Genus: | Channichthys |
| Species: | C. irinae |
| Binomial name | |
| Channichthys irinae Shandikov, 1995 | |
Description
The pygmy icefish grows to a maximum length of 25.9 cm (10.2 in). This species is very similar to Channichthys mithridatis (to which it is closely related), but it has more gill rakers in more and longer rows (21 to 30 in two rows for C. irinae compared to 11 to 16 in one row for C. mithraditis). Distinguishing factors from other Channichthys species also include the fact that it has the largest eye diameter relative to snout length (45.9% at the very least, with specimens sometimes reaching 56%) .[1]
References
- G. A. Shandikov. 2008. Channichthys mithraditis, a new species of icefishes (Perciformes: Notothenioidei: Channichthydae) from the Kerguelen Islands, with comments on the taxonomic status of Channichthys normani.
- "Channichthys irinae, Pygmy icefish". www.fishbase.se. Retrieved 2020-09-27.