Neopagetopsis ionah
Neopagetopsis ionah, Jonah's icefish, is a benthopelagic species of crocodile icefish found in the Southern Ocean at depths of from 20 to 900 metres (66 to 2,953 ft). It has a circum-Antarctic distribution on the continental slope and continental shelf, with the northernmost records from the South Shetland and the South Orkney Islands.[1]
| Neopagetopsis ionah | |
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| Drawing by J.C. Hureau | |
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| Genus: | Neopagetopsis Nybelin, 1947 |
| Species: | N. ionah |
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| Neopagetopsis ionah Nybelin, 1947 | |
This species has a dark blackish-green or black body. The well-developed dorsal fins and fan-shaped pelvic fins are blackish. Other fins may be dusky or blackish in color. The belly is whitish, however, those of juveniles may have irregular dark markings present. This species grows to a length of 56 centimetres (22 in) TL. Adults mainly feed on fishes ( including Dacodraco hunteri, Chaenodraco wilsoni, Pleuragramma antarcticum and Chionodraco sp.) and krill, however, young specimens feed mainly on krill (mainly Euphasia superba), and they are frequently caught along with their prey at 10 cm to 15 cm TL (3.9 to 5.9 inches TL). In the South Shetland Islands, both adults and juveniles show a marked preference for krill (only 3 out of 19 sampled specimens had consumed any kind of fish). [2]
This species has a more complete hemoglobin gene than other species of crocodile icefish; however, it is still nonfunctional.[3]
This species is the only known member of its genus. It is of no interest to commercial fisheries.[1]
References
- "Neopagetopsis ionah, Jonah's icefish". www.fishbase.se. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
- Gon, Ofer; Heemstra, Phillip C. (1990). Fishes of the Southern Ocean. Grahamstown, South Africa: J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology. pp. 395–396.
- Near, Thomas J.; Parker, Sandra K.; Detrich, H. William (2006-11-01). "A Genomic Fossil Reveals Key Steps in Hemoglobin Loss by the Antarctic Icefishes". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 23 (11): 2008–2016. doi:10.1093/molbev/msl071. ISSN 0737-4038. PMID 16870682.