''Phycis phycis'', the forkbeard, is a species of

phycid hake The Phycidae are a family of hakes in the order Gadiformes. They are native to the Atlantic Ocean, but the juveniles of some species enter estuaries. Sometimes this family is classified as the subfamily Phycinae of the cod family, Gadidae The ...

s in the family

Phycidae The Phycidae are a family of hakes in the order Gadiformes. They are native to the Atlantic Ocean, but the juveniles of some species enter estuaries. Sometimes this family is classified as the subfamily Phycinae of the cod family, Gadidae The ...

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Etymology

Genus and species names ''Phycis'' derive from Greek, ''phykon'' meaning ''seaweed'', as these fishes usually live hidden among seaweeds.

Description

''Phycis phycis'' commonly can reach a length of , with a maximum length of in males. These fishes have a wide mouth with thick lips. A barbel is present on the chin. They do not have any thorn in the fins, but show elongated pelvic-fin rays reduced to bifid filaments, with 2 soft rays. The dorsal fin is a double and rounded (the first can have 9 or 11 soft rays, the second 56 or 65). The caudal fin is rounded, with 27 or 29 soft rays. Vertical fins distally reaching the origin of the anal fin. They are dark, sometimes with a pale margin. Body color is dark brown or gray on the back, but ventrally the color becomes paler.Cohen, D.M.; T. Inada, T. Iwamoto y N. Scialabba (1990). - «FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date». - FAO Fish. Synop 10 (125): 442.

Biology

Forkbeards are nocturnal, during the day they hide between rocks. They feed on small fish and several species of invertebrates. Breeding takes place from January to May. They are relatively slow growing and long lived fishes.Ana Rita Costa Abecasis, Angela Canha, Dália Reisa, Mário Rui Pinho and João Gil-Pereir
Age and growth of the forkbeard Phycis phycis (Gadidae) from the Azorean archipelago, North Atlantic
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

Distribution and habitat

This species is present in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and in western coast of northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the Azores. These fishes live on hard and sandy-muddy bottoms close to the rocks usually, at depths of 100–650 m.

References

*Patrick Louisy, Guida all'identificazione dei pesci marini d'Europa e del Mediterraneo, a cura di Trainito, Egidio, Milano, Il Castello, 2006, . *Sergio Pili, Pesci:guida pratica per il consumatore, Nuoro, 1997

External links

* Phycidae Fish described in 1766 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Gadiformes-stub