The giant wrymouth (''Cryptacanthodes giganteus'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
wrymouth
The wrymouth (''Cryptacanthodes maculatus'') sometimes called ghostfish or "potato-head fish", is a slim, eel-like creature belongs to the wrymouth family Cryptacanthodidae. It outgrows the blennies, its relatives, and may reach a length of ...
found in the northeastern
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
from the
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...
to northern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
where it is believed to spend most of its life buried in soft areas at the bottom of the ocean at depths of from . This fish can reach a length of
TL. Like the
wolf eel
The wolf eel (''Anarrhichthys ocellatus'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Anarhichadidae, the wolf fishes. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean. Despite its common name and resemblance, it is not a true eel. It ...
, giant wrymouths are easily mistaken for eels.
References
Cryptacanthodidae
Fish of the North Pacific
Western North American coastal fauna
Fish described in 1858
Taxa named by Heinrich von Kittlitz
{{Perciformes-stub