''Notothenia angustata'', the Maori chief or black cod, 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 marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Nototheniidae : ''In some scientific literature, the term "cod icefish" is used to identify members of this family. This should not be confused with the term "icefish," which refers to the "white-blooded" fishes of the family Channichthyidae. See Icefish (disam ...

, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

Taxonomy

''Notothenia angustata'' was first formally described in 1875 by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born New Zealand scientist Frederick Wollaston Hutton with the type locality given as

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in New Zealand. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''angustata'' means "narrowed" a reference to the relatively narrow head of this species.

Description

''Notothenia angustata'' is a large

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 ...

fish which is quite similar in shape and colour to the

Maori cod ''Paranotothenia magellanica''), also known as Magellanic rockcod, Maori cod, blue notothenia or orange throat notothen, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native t ...

(''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 line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

s. 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. This species attains a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of .

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 The sub-Antarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands ...

, at depths to . The juveniles are often found in

tide pools A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide. Many tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals that ...

, 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. 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. The Chilean study referenced above found 11 taxa of parasites living in specimens of this species including

digeneans Digenea (Gr. ''Dis'' – double, ''Genos'' – race) is a class of trematodes in the Platyhelminthes phylum, consisting of parasitic flatworms (known as ''flukes'') with a syncytial tegument and, usually, two suckers, one ventral and one oral ...

cestodes Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, known as tapeworms. Their bodies consist of man ...

and

nematodes The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broa ...

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.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1961975 angustata Fish of the Pacific Ocean Marine fish of New Zealand Taxa named by Frederick Hutton (scientist) Fish described in 1875