The short beard codling (''Laemonema barbatulum'') is a species of marine

bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartilag ...

in the family

Moridae The Moridae are a family of cod-like fishes, known as codlings, hakelings, and moras. Morids are marine fishes found throughout the world, and may be found at depths to , although most prefer shallower waters. In appearance, they greatly resembl ...

. Native to the western Atlantic Ocean, it is found on the

continental slope A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin ...

at depths between .

Description

The shortbeard codling can grow to a maximum standard length of about and takes the form of a somewhat spindle-shaped cylinder. The snout is fairly blunt and the upper jaw is slightly longer than the lower jaw. There is a short

barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...

on the chin and a flattened spine on the operculum. There are two

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

s with no spines and a total of from 69 to 76 soft

rays Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

. The first dorsal fin has 6 rays, the second of which is the longest, and the second dorsal fin originates immediately behind the first fin. Each

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

has 17 to 23 soft rays. The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s are widely separated and each has two elongated soft rays; these fins originate to the front of the pectoral fins. The

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has no spines and has 57 to 63 soft rays. The

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

is small and rounded. The general colour of this fish is tan, the dorsal and anal fins having dark edges.

Distribution and habitat

This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean between about 57°N and 4°N, its range extending southwards from the

Grand Banks of Newfoundland The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, the depth range being from around down to about .

Ecology

''L. barbatulum'' is one of the dominant fishes in the more open areas of the

, away from deepwater coral reefs. Other fish found in these locations include the underworld windowskate ('' Fenestraja plutonia''), the Atlantic hagfish ''

Myxine glutinosa ''Myxine glutinosa'', known as the Atlantic hagfish in North America, and often simply as the hagfish in Europe, is a species of jawless fish of the genus ''Myxine''. Distribution The distribution of ''Myxine glutinosa'' in the eastern Atlantic ...

'', and the shortnose greeneye ''

Chlorophthalmus ''Chlorophthalmus'' is a genus of greeneyes Species There are currently 17 recognized species in this genus: * '' Chlorophthalmus acutifrons'' Hiyama, 1940 (Greeneye) * Shortnose greeneye (''Chlorophthalmus agassizi'') Bonaparte, 1840 (Short ...

agassizi''. It is a

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

, feeding on such invertebrates as

bivalves Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

, gastropod molluscs,

polychaete worms Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are m ...

and tanaids, crushing its prey with its beak-like jaws.Priede (2017), p. 110.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2418998

shortbeard codling The short beard codling (''Laemonema barbatulum'') is a species of marine bony fish in the family Moridae. Native to the western Atlantic Ocean, it is found on the continental slope at depths between . Description The shortbeard codling can grow ...

Fish of the Western Atlantic Fish described in 1883 Taxa named by George Brown Goode Taxa named by Tarleton Hoffman Bean