Anarhichadidae
For freshwater wolf fish, see Erythrinidae.
Wolffish | |
---|---|
Northern wolffish, Anarhichas denticulatus | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Perciformes |
Family: | Anarhichadidae Bonaparte, 1832 |
Genera[1] | |
See text for species. |
The wolffish, also known as sea wolves, are a family, Anarhichadidae, of perciform fish. They are native to cold waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where they live on the continental shelf and slope, to depths of about 600 m (2,000 ft). They are bottom-feeders, eating hard-shelled invertebrates such as clams, echinoderms, and crustaceans, which they crush with their strong canine and molar teeth. The longest species, Anarrhichthys ocellatus, grows to more than 2 m (6.6 ft) in length.
Species
The five species in two genera are:
- Genus Anarhichas
- Northern wolffish, Anarhichas denticulatus Krøyer, 1845.
- Atlantic wolffish or sea wolf, Anarhichas lupus Linnaeus, 1758.
- Spotted wolffish, Anarhichas minor Olafsen, 1772.
- Bering wolffish, Anarhichas orientalis Pallas, 1814.
- Genus Anarrhichthys
Timeline of genera
References
- ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). "Anarhichadidae" in FishBase. February 2013 version.
- "Anarhichadidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 December 2004.
- Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
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