The pink cusk-eel, ''Genypterus blacodes'', is a
demersal species of
cusk-eel
The cusk-eel family, Ophidiidae, is a group of marine bony fishes in the Ophidiiformes order. The scientific name is from the Greek ''ophis'' meaning "snake", and refers to their eel-like appearance. True eels, however, diverged from other ray- ...
found in the oceans around southern
Australia,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and around
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
except the east coast of
Northland, in depths of . Their length is up to , and they live for up to 30 years. Their maximum weight is .
This species has a pinkish yellow body marbled with irregular reddish brown blotches dorsally, with no dorsal spines or anal spines.
Other names in English include ling, Australian rockling, New Zealand ling, kingklip, pink ling, and northern ling. The
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
n kingklip is a similar, related species (''
Genypterus capensis
''Genypterus capensis'', commonly known as kingklip, is a species of cusk eel occurring along the Southern African coast from Walvis Bay in Namibia to Algoa Bay in South Africa. It is closely related to ''Genypterus blacodes'' from New Zealand. ...
'').
This species feeds on crustaceans such as ''
Munida'' and scampi but also takes fish. It has been caught on the bottom during the spawning season of the
blue grenadier ''(Macruronus novaezelandiae)'' while feeding on the species. Juveniles of this species are found in shallower shelf waters. This species is
oviparous, and its eggs float on the surface in a pelagic mass.
In the month-long NORFANZ Expedition of 2003 which was examining the
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
of the
seamounts and slopes of the
Norfolk Ridge
The Norfolk Ridge is a long submarine ridge running between New Caledonia and New Zealand, about 1300 km off the east-coast of Australia.
It is part of a complex region of ridges between the crust of the Pacific Basin and the continental c ...
near New Zealand, a single specimen weighing was collected.
This species is of major importance 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 p ...
, with catches in 2011 amounting to .
It is utilized fresh, frozen or
smoked, and can be fried or baked.
References
*
*
* Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, ''Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand'', (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2413190
Ophidiidae
Fish of the Pacific Ocean
Fish described in 1801
Taxa named by Johann Reinhold Forster