''Patagonotothen guntheri'', the yellowfin notothen, is a species of notothen found in the

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

region of

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

, the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

, the

Burdwood Bank The Burdwood Bank, called Namuncurá in Argentina and other countries, is an undersea bank with a prominence of approximately 200 metres (110 fathoms), part of the Scotia Arc projecting some from Cape Horn in the South Atlantic Ocean and located ...

and the Shag Rocks (where it is found in abundance) west of

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

on the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

at depths of 120-250 m (394-820 ft), but may be found in waters deeper than 250 m in the Argentinian region.

Etymology

This species was named in honor of Mr. E. R. Gunther, a fisheries biologist of the

Discovery investigations The Discovery Investigations were a series of scientific cruises and shore-based investigations into the biology of whales in the Southern Ocean. They were funded by the British Colonial Office and organised by the Discovery Committee in London, wh ...

Description

This species is a small notothen with lemon yellow caudal,

pectoral Pectoral may refer to: * The chest region and anything relating to it. * Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest * a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget * Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt * Pectorali ...

and

pelvic The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis, or pelvic skeleton). The ...

fins. The

anal Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involvin ...

and

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

fins are also yellow. All fins are lighter at the tips and the body is generally colored gray, with the snout and the top of the head being darker. 2 or 3 dark stripes extend across the cheek, and a horizontal stripe may be present above the eye. This species attains a maximum length of 23 cm (9 inches). Up to 9 cross-bars may form on the body after preservation. This species is very similar to congener '' Patagonotothen brevicauda'', however, it has more

gill rakers Gill rakers in fish are bony or cartilaginous processes that project from the branchial arch (gill arch) and are involved with suspension feeding tiny prey. They are not to be confused with the gill filaments that compose the fleshy part of the ...

(26 to 39 in total compared to 22 to 27 in total) and the difference between the number of pectoral fin rays (23-26 compared to 22–25, with a mean of 24.8 for ''P. guntheri'' and a mean of 23.0 for ''P. brevicauda'') can also be used to distinguish between the two species.

Ecology

This species is a

benthopelagic 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 which mainly feeds on

krill Krill are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in n ...

(comprising 89% of total prey mass), but also takes

amphipods Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descri ...

. At around 3-4 years of age, females may

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

for the first time, with the Shag Rocks being a spawning hotspot.

Commercial importance

This species was once very important to

commercial fisheries Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

, with 12, 000 tonnes (13, 228 tons) being landed in 1979 from the Shag Rocks alone. However, this is no longer the case; it is of little to no commercial importance at present.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2961634 guntheri Taxa named by John Roxborough Norman Fish described in 1937 Fish of the Southern Ocean