Atlantic butterfish
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Atlantic butterfish ( Pholis gunnellus ) |
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| Pholis gunnellus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The Atlantic butterfish ( Pholis gunnellus ) is a slender marine fish from cold regions of the northern Atlantic. Its distribution area extends from the Kanin Peninsula in the Barents Sea over the White Sea , Svalbard and Iceland to La Rochelle . It is also found in the North and Baltic Seas . It lives in the northwest Atlantic from the coast of Labrador to Delaware Bay .
features
The Atlantic butterfish has an elongated, ribbon-shaped body and becomes 30 cm long. It is brownish in color. Dorsal, caudal and anal fins are separated from each other. The dorsal fin is long and takes up almost the entire length of the body. Along the base of the long dorsal fin there are 9 to 13 black eye-spots that are surrounded by white. The anal fin extends over the back of the body. The sideline runs along the middle of the body.
Way of life
The Atlantic butterfish live true to their location on the sea floor of tidal pools down to a depth of 35 meters. Animals that fall dry at low tide can breathe air and survive hidden under stones or perch. In winter it migrates to greater depths of about 100 meters or less. The preferred habitat is rocky with algae or seaweed covered. It feeds mainly on small crustaceans , poly bristles , molluscs and fish roe. The Atlantic butterfish reproduce in the winter months from November to January. The 80 to 200 eggs are deposited in a lump under stones or in an empty mussel shell and guarded by the male until the young fish hatch.
use
The Atlantic butterfish is of no economic importance and is not fished. Offered in the commercially under the name "butterfish" fish fillets is it's snake mackerel (Gempylidae) not with the butter fish are related.
literature
- Bent J. Muus, Jørgen G. Nielsen: The marine fish of Europe in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Atlantic. Kosmos, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07804-3 .
Web links
- Atlantic Butterfish on Fishbase.org (English)