''Patagonotothen'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

es, 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. They are native to the southeast Pacific Ocean, southern Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean.

Taxonomy

''Patagonotothen'' was first formally described in 1976 by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Arkady Vladimirovich Balushkin Arkady (russian: Арка́дий, Arkadiy) is a Slavic masculine given name, ultimately derived from the Greek name Αρκάδιος, meaning “from Arcadia”. The Latin equivalent is Arcadius. Notable people with the name include: People: *Ark ...

with ''Notothenia tessellata'', which had been described in 1845 by the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

naturalist,

Arctic explorer Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Historical records suggest that humankind have explored ...

and naval surgeon John Richardson with a type locality of 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 ...

, as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

. Some authorities place this genus in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Nototheniinae, but the 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

'' does not include subfamilies in the Nototheniidae. The genus name is a compound of ''Patago'', a reference to Patagonia, and ''notothen'', indicating that this genus is part of the family Nototheniidae.

Species

The 15 recognized species in this genus are: * ''

Patagonotothen brevicauda ''Patagonotothen brevicauda'', the Patagonian rockcod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to oceans of the Patagonian region, including Tierra del Fuego, the ...

'' (Lönnberg, 1905) (Patagonian rockcod) * ''

Patagonotothen canina ''Patagonotothen'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. They are native to the southeast Pacific Ocean, southern Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean. Taxonomy ''Patagono ...

'' ( Smitt, 1897) * ''

Patagonotothen cornucola ''Patagonotothen'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. They are native to the southeast Pacific Ocean, southern Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean. Taxonomy ''Patagono ...

'' ( J. Richardson, 1844) * ''

Patagonotothen elegans ''Patagonotothen elegans'' is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Nototheniidae : ''In some scientific literature, the term "cod icefish" is used to identify members of this family. This should not be confused with the t ...

'' ( Günther, 1880) * ''

Patagonotothen guntheri ''Patagonotothen guntheri'', the yellowfin notothen, is a species of notothen found in the Argentinian region of Patagonia, the Falkland Islands, the Burdwood Bank and the Shag Rocks (where it is found in abundance) west of South Georgia on the ...

'' (

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, 1937) (yellowfin notothen) * ''

Patagonotothen jordani ''Patagonotothen'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes, belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. They are native to the southeast Pacific Ocean, southern Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean. Taxonomy ''Patagono ...

'' ( W. F. Thompson, 1916) * ''Patagonotothen kreffti'' (Balushkin & Matthias Stehmann, Stehmann, 1993) * ''Patagonotothen longipes'' (Franz Steindachner, Steindachner, 1876) * ''Patagonotothen ramsayi'' (Charles Tate Regan, Regan, 1913) (longtail southern cod) * ''Patagonotothen shagensis'' Arkady Vladimirovich Balushkin, Balushkin & Yuri Yefimovich Permitin, Permitin, 1982 * ''Patagonotothen sima'' (J. Richardson, 1845) * ''Patagonotothen squamiceps'' (Wilhelm Peters, W. K. H. Peters, 1877) * ''Patagonotothen tessellata'' (J. Richardson, 1845) (black southern cod) * ''Patagonotothen thompsoni'' (Balushkin, 1993) * ''Patagonotothen wiltoni'' (Regan, 1913)

Characteristics

''Patagonotothen'' fishes are small to medium sized notothens which have small to moderately sized heads. The scales on the head vary in extent from almost totally unscaled to having scales over the crown, cheeks and gill covers. The skin on the head is smooth. Typically they have two lateral lines, although some species may have a third lower lateral line, and these are usually made up of tubed scales. The maximum total length varies from in ''P. cornucola'' to in ''P. ramsayi''.

Distribution, habitat and biology

Patagonotothen species are found in the waters off southern South America off Chile and Argentina as well as the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. They are demersal or benthopelagic fishes which feed mainly on zooplankton such as krill.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2491880 Patagonotothen, Nototheniidae Marine fish genera Perciformes genera