Merlangius
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{use dmy dates |date=June 2020}}
{{For|other fish known as whiting|Whiting (fish)}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Merlangius merlangus
| image = Wijting002.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| parent_authority = Garsault, 1764
| taxon = Merlangius merlangus
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)
| synonyms = *Gadus merlangus Linnaeus, 1758
- Odontogadus merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Merlangus vulgaris Fleming, 1828
- Gadus euxinus Nordmann, 1840
- Merlangus linnei Malm, 1877
}}
Merlangius merlangus, commonly known as whiting or merling, is an important food fish in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the northern Mediterranean, western Baltic, and Black Sea. In Anglophonic countries outside the whiting's natural range, the name "whiting" has been applied to various other species of fish.
Description
Merlangius merlangus has three dorsal fins with a total of 30 to 40 soft rays and two anal fins with 30 to 35 soft rays. The body is long and the head small and a chin barbel, if present, is very small. This fish can reach a maximum length of about {{convert|70|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=off}}. The colour may be yellowish-brown, greenish or dark blue, the flanks yellowish grey or white and the belly silvery. There is a distinctive black blotch near the base of each pectoral fin.{{cite web|url=http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Merlangius-merlangus.html |title=Merlangius merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758): Whiting |publisher=FishBase |accessdate=2013-12-20}}
Distribution and habitat
Whiting are native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Their range extends from the southeastern Barents Sea and Iceland to Scandinavia, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, Portugal, the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Adriatic Sea and parts of the Mediterranean Sea. They occur on sand, mud and gravel seabeds at depths down to about {{convert|100|m|ft fathom|sigfig=1|abbr=off}}.
In 2014, their conservation status was classified at vulnerable in the Baltic Sea.{{cite journal |author=HELCOM |authorlink=HELCOM |year=2013 |title=HELCOM Red List of Baltic Sea species in danger of becoming extinct |journal=Baltic Sea Environmental Proceedings |issue=140 |page=72 |url=http://helcom.fi/Lists/Publications/BSEP140.pdf |access-date=2014-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007002944/http://helcom.fi/Lists/Publications/BSEP140.pdf |archive-date=2014-10-07 |url-status=dead }}
Uses
Until the late 20th century, whiting was a cheap fish, regarded as food for the poor or for pets.{{cite web | url = http://britishseafishing.co.uk/whiting/ | title = Whiting | date = 29 June 2012 | publisher = www.BritishSeaFishing.co.uk | accessdate = 14 December 2014}} The general decline in fish stocks means it is now more highly valued. The other fish that have been given the name whiting are mostly also edible fish. Several species of the drum, or croaker, family (Sciaenidae) are also called whiting, among them the northern kingfish (Menticirrhus saxatilis).
Parasites
Whiting and related other Gadidae species are plagued by parasites. These include the cod worm (Lernaeocera branchialis), a copepod crustacean that clings to the gills of the fish and metamorphoses into a plump, sinusoidal, wormlike body, with a coiled mass of egg strings at the rear.
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{ITIS |id=164758 |taxon=Merlangius merlangus |accessdate=19 March 2006}}
External links
{{Commonscat|Merlangius merlangus|Merlangius merlangus}}
- [http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Merlangius&speciesname=merlangus Fishbase.org entry for Merlangius merlangus]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050109065512/http://earth.leeds.ac.uk/~jackson/shoal/w.html Distribution map and more]
{{diversity of fish}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q273083}}
Category:Fish described in 1758
Category:Fish of the Black Sea
Category:Fish of the Mediterranean Sea
Category:Fish of the North Sea
Category:Taxa named by François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault