Notothenia angustata
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Maori chief
| image = Notothenia_angustata_(Maori_chief).gif
| image_caption = Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
| taxon = Notothenia angustata
| authority = F. W. Hutton, 1875
| synonyms = * Paranotothenia angustata (F. W. Hutton, 1875)
| synonyms_ref = {{FishBase|Notothenia|angustata|month=June|year=2021}}
}}
Notothenia angustata, the Maori chief or black cod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean
Taxonomy
Notothenia angustata was first formally described in 1875 by the English-born New Zealand scientist Frederick Wollaston Hutton with the type locality given as Dunedin in New Zealand.{{Cof genus | genus = Notothenia | access-date = 24 September 2021}} The specific name angustata means "narrowed" a reference to the relatively narrow head of this species.{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes7/ | title = Order Perciformes: Suborder Notothenoididei: Families Bovichtidae, Pseaudaphritidae, Elegopinidae, Nototheniidae, Harpagiferidae, Artedidraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae and Percophidae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 12 April 2021 | access-date = 23 September 2021 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}
Description
Notothenia angustata is a large demersal fish which is quite similar in shape and colour to the Maori cod (Paranotothen magellanica). The mouth is large and there are obvious bony ridge over each eye. They have a rounded caudal fin and slightly overlapping lateral lines. The small first dorsal fin has six spines. The colour is dark grey or green on the upper body with blue-black mottling and it has a yellow abdomen. There are many small grey spots and streaks on the head and the grey fins have dark mottling.{{cite web | url = http://www.marinelife.ac.nz/species/960 | title = Fish, Black Cod | access-date = 24 September 2021 | publisher = Marine Life Database}} This species attains a maximum total length of {{cvt|41|cm}}.
Distribution and habitat
Notothenia angustata is found in the Southern Ocean and the Southern Pacific Ocean. It is found from New Zealand and Chile south and throughout the Subantarctic, at depths to {{cvt|100|m}}. The juveniles are often found in tide pools, with the adults on rocky reefs.
Biology
Notothenia angustata feeds on cephalopods, benthic invertrebrates and small fishes. However, in Chile, a study found that the main component of their diet was algae.{{cite journal | author1 = Gabriela Muñoz | author2 = Félix Garcías | author3 = Verónica Valdebenito | author4 = Mario George-Nascimento | name-list-style = amp | year = 2001 | title = Parasitofauna y alimentación de Notothenia c.f. angustata Hutton, 1875 (Pisces: Nototheniidae) en el intermareal de dos localidades del Golfo de Arauco, Chile | journal = Boletín chileno de parasitología | volume = 56 | issue = 1–2 | doi = 10.4067/S0365-94022001000100008 | language = Es| doi-access = free }} Abstract in English This species has some of the same genes as its more southerly relatives for the production of antifreeze proteins in its blood.{{cite journal | author1 = Zulema L. Coppes Petricorena | author2 = George N. Somero | year = 2006 | title = Biochemical adaptations of notothenioid fishes: Comparisons between cold temperate South American and New Zealand species and Antarctic species | journal = Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A | volume = 147 | issue = 3 | pages = 799–807 | doi = 10.1016/j.cbpa.2006.09.028 | pmid = 17293146 }} The Chilean study referenced above found 11 taxa of parasites living in specimens of this species including digeneans, cestodes and nematodes.
Utilisation
Nothotenia angustata is caught using hook and lines and the flesh is edible but not highly regarded and any caught tend to be used as bait in lobster fisheries.{{cite web | url = https://teara.govt.nz/en/coastal-fish/page-7 | title = Page 7. Fish of the northern and southern rocky sea floor | access-date = 24 September 2021 | website = Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1961975}}
Category:Fish of the Pacific Ocean
Category:Marine fish of New Zealand