Liparis atlanticus
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Liparis atlanticus.jpg
| image2 = L.atlanticus.ventralsucker.jpg
| image2_caption = Ventral sucker
| status = G5
| status_system = TNC
| status_ref = {{cite web | url = https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103154/Liparis_atlanticus | title = Liparis atlanticus Atlantic Seasnail | access-date = 22 March 2023 | work = NatureServe Explorer | publisher = NatureServe}}
| taxon = Liparis atlanticus
| authority = (D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1898)
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
| Neoliparis atlanticus | Jordan & Evermann, 1898
}}
}}
Liparis atlanticus, the Atlantic snailfish or Atlantic seasnail, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Liparidae, the snailfishes. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of North America.
Taxonomy
Liparis atlanticus was first formally described as Neoliparis atlanticus in 1898 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann with its type locality given as Godbout in Quebec.{{Cof genus|genus=Liparis|access-date=22 March 2023}} Some authorities place this species in the subgenus Neoliparis,{{cite journal | author = Chernova, N.V. | title = Amphiboreality and Distribution of Snailfishes (Cottiformes: Liparidae) in the Arctic and the North Atlantic | journal = Diversity | year = 2022 | volume = 14 | issue = 12 | page = 1097 | doi = 10.3390/d14121097| doi-access = free }} while other include it in the nominate subgenus of Liparis.{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes22/ | title = Order Perciformes (part 22): Suborder Cottoidei: Infraorder Cottales: Family Liparidae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 4 October 2022 | access-date = 22 March 2023 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}
Description
Liparis atlanticus is a small tadpole-like fish with a soft, scaleless body and complex ventral sucker formed from heavily modified pelvic fins.{{cite journal | title = Comparative morphology and osteology of pelvic fin-derived midline suckers in lumpfishes, snailfishes and gobies | year = 2010 | author1 = Budney, L. A. | author2 = Hall, B. K. |name-list-style = & | journal = Journal of Applied Ichthyology | volume = 26 | issue = 2 | pages = 167–175 | doi =10.1111/j.1439-0426.2010.01398.x| bibcode = 2010JApIc..26..167B }} It has a single dorsal fin which is clearly incised at the 5th or 6th ray and the fins have comparatively ferwer fin rays than its congeners. The overall color is brown, lightening on the flanks and pale on the ventral surface with some black spots on sensory pores and barring on the fins.{{cite journal | author1 = Able, K. W. | author2 = D. E. McAllister | name-list-style = and | year = 1980 | title = Revision of the snailfish genus Liparis from Arctic Canada | journal = Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences | volume = 208 | url = https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/926.pdf}} This species reaches a maximum length of about {{cvt|13|cm}}.{{FishBase|Liparis|atlanticus|month=February|year=2023}}
Distribution and habitat
Liparis atlanticus are found in the coastal waters of the northwest Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Ungava Bay in Quebec to New Jersey. The Atlantic snailfish lives in intertidal zones and the immediately subtidal region to depths of {{cvt|90|m}}. In northern parts of its range, it is often found along the shoreline in seaweed beds.
Biology
Liparis atlanticus attains sexual maturity in their second year when they reach a length of {{cvt|60|to|70|mm}}. They migrate into intertidal areas from mid-October prior to spawning in March and moving out of the intertidal zone in June. The males select and prepare a spawning site. The larger females have been recorded as spawning several times in a season, they deposit several small egg masses which the male fertilizes and collects into a single mass. This mass is hidden among stones and algae. Their diet is mainly polychaetes and crustaceans.
References
{{Reflist}}
- "Fishes of the World". Alwyne Wheeler.
- "The Inland Fishes of New York State." C. Lavett Smith.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2011282}}
Category:Fish of the Atlantic Ocean
Category:Taxa named by David Starr Jordan