Anarhichadidae
{{Short description|Family of ray-finned fishes}}
{{about|the family of saltwater fish|freshwater wolf fish|Erythrinidae}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Seewolf.JPG
| image_caption = Northern wolffish, Anarhichas denticulatus
| taxon = Anarhichadidae
| authority = Bonaparte, 1832 {{cite journal | author1 = Richard van der Laan | author2 = William N. Eschmeyer | author3 = Ronald Fricke | name-list-style = amp | year = 2014 | title = Family-group names of Recent fishes | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268078514 | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3882 | issue = 2 | pages = 001–230 | doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 | pmid = 25543675 | doi-access = free }}
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = See text
}}
Anarhichadidae, the wolffishes, sea wolves or wolf eels, is a family of marine ray finned fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. These are predatory, eel shaped fishes which are native to the cold waters of the Arctic, North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans.
Taxonomy
Anarhichadidae was first proposed as a family in 1832 by the French zoologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.{{cite journal | author1 = Richard van der Laan | author2 = William N. Eschmeyer | author3 = Ronald Fricke | name-list-style = amp | year = 2014 | title = Family-group names of Recent fishes | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268078514 | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3882 | issue = 2 | pages = 001–230 | doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 | pmid = 25543675 | doi-access = free }} The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this family within the suborder Zoarcoidei, within the order Scorpaeniformes.{{cite book |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |author1=J. S. Nelson |author2=T. C. Grande |author3=M. V. H. Wilson |year=2016 |pages=478–482 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |url=https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ |access-date=2022-07-24 |archive-date=2019-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408194051/https://sites.google.com/site/fotw5th/ |url-status=dead }} Other authorities classify this family in the infraorder Zoarcales within the suborder Cottoidei of the Perciformes because removing the Scorpaeniformes from the Perciformes renders that taxon non monophyletic.{{cite journal | author1 = Ricardo Betancur-R | author2 = Edward O. Wiley | author3 = Gloria Arratia | author4 = Arturo Acero | author5 = Nicolas Bailly | author6 = Masaki Miya | author7 = Guillaume Lecointre | author8 = Guillermo Ortí | display-authors = 3 | title =Phylogenetic classification of bony fishes | journal = BMC Evolutionary Biology | volume = 17 | issue = 162 | year = 2017 | page = 162 | doi = 10.1186/s12862-017-0958-3 | pmid = 28683774 | pmc = 5501477 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2017BMCEE..17..162B }}
Etymology
Anarhichadidae is derived from the name of its type genus Anarhichas which is an Ancient Greek name for the Atlantic wolffish (A. lupus) and means "the climber", in turn derived from the Greek anarrhichesis which means "to climb or scramble up". This may be an allusion to the ancient belief that wolffishes left the water and climbed up on the rocks.{{cite web | url = http://etyfish.org/perciformes15/ | title = Order Perciformes (Part 11): Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Zoarcales: Families: Anarhichadidae, Neozoarcidae, Eulophias, Stichaeidae, Lumpenidae, Ophistocentridae, Pholidae, Ptilichthyidae, Zaproridae, Cryptacanthodidae, Cebidichthyidae, Scytalinidae and Bathymasteridae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 4 July 2021 | access-date = 24 July 2022 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}
Genera and species
Anarhichadidae contains two genera and five species:{{FishBase family|family=Anarhichadidae|month=February|year=2022}}{{Cof family|family=Anarhichadidae|access-date=23 July 2022}}
| class="wikitable"
!Image !Genus !Living species | ||
| 175px | Anarhichas Linnaeus, 1758 | * Northern wolffish, Anarhichas denticulatus Krøyer, 1845.
|
| 175px | Anarrhichthys Ayres, 1855 | * Wolf eel, Anarrhichthys ocellatus Ayres, 1855. |
Timeline of genera
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Characteristics
Anarhichadidae wolfishes have a largely compressed and, in the genus Anarhichas, a moderately elongate body. Anarrhichthys has an extremely elongate body, and this has given rise to its common name of wolf-eel. The long dorsal fin starts at the head and has many flexible spines and soft rays. The anal fin may have a single spine in Anarrhichthys, and again there is a large number of soft rays. The caudal fin is separate from the other median fins in Anarhichas but they are all three joined in Anarrhichthys. There is a single pair of nostrils. The scales, if present, are cycloid, tiny and do not overlap. There are well developed. movement sensitive sensory canals on the head and as the fish ages the pores grow very large. There are 1 or 2 lateral lines made up of superficial neuromasts. There are robust conical teeth in the front of the jaws and large molar like teeth to the rear of those. The gill membranes are joined to the isthmus and the gill openings are set widely apart. There is no swim bladder. The counts of vertebrae are 72–89 in Anarhichas and 221–251 in Anarrhichthys.{{cite journal | author = Catherine W. Mecklenburg | year = 2003 | title = Family Anarhichadidae Bonaparte 1846 wolffishes | journal = Annotated Checklist of Fishes | issue = 10 | publisher = California Academy of Sciences | issn = 1545-150X | url = https://www.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/assets/docs/anarhichadidae.pdf}} The longest published total length is for Anarrhichthys ocellatus and is {{cvt|240|cm}}.
Distribution and habitat
Anarhichadidae wolfishes prefer cooler waters and are found in the northern parts of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans as well as in the Arctic Ocean. They are demersal fishes occurring in shallow to moderately deep and cold seas.
Biology
Anarhichadidae wolffishes use their large teeth to feed on a diet of shelled invertebrates such as crabs, starfishes and sea urchins, as well as other prey,{{cite web | url = https://www.britannica.com/animal/wolffish | title = Wolffish | access-date = 24 July 2022 |publisher = Encyclopedia Britannica}} The peak mating season for wolffish is September to October. The male wolffish will guard the eggs 3–9 months until they hatch.{{cite web | title = Fisheries, NOAA. "Atlantic Wolffish." NOAA | date = 2 December 2020 | url =https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-wolffish}}
Fisheries
Trivia
The collegiate sports teams of the University of Alaska Anchorage have adopted the Seawolf, based on Tlingit and Haida legends, as their mascot.{{Cite web|title=UAA Traditions: What's a Seawolf?|url=https://goseawolves.com/sports/2015/8/22/748867.aspx|access-date=2022-01-23|website=University of Alaska Anchorage|language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{ITIS |taxon=Anarhichadidae |id=171335 |accessdate=5 December 2004}}
- {{cite journal|last=Sepkoski |first=Jack |title=A compendium of fossil marine animal genera |journal=Bulletins of American Paleontology |volume=364 |page=560 |year=2002 |url=http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |access-date=2011-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723131237/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |archive-date=2011-07-23 }}
- “The Wolffishes (Family : Anarhichadidae).” Finfish Aquaculture Diversification, by R. Le François Nathalie, CABI, 2010, pp. 417–418.
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