The Atlantic wreckfish, (''Polyprion americanus''), also known as the stone bass or bass grouper, is a marine, bathydemersal, and

oceanodromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

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 h ...

in the

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

Polyprionidae The wreckfish are a family, Polyprionidae in the suborder Percoidei of the order Perciformes. They are deep-water marine fish and can be found on the ocean bottom, where they inhabit caves and shipwrecks (thus their common name). Their scientifi ...

. It has a worldwide, if disjunct, distribution in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Description

The Atlantic wreckfish is a large fish with a deep, robust body and a large head with a protruding lower jaw. The two

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

s are joined, the first has 11 spines with the final spine joined on to the second dorsal fin, which has 12 branched rays. The anal fin has a short base and has three robust spines. The

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

is broad and square. The body is covered with small, firmly attached scales which run up the base of the dorsal and anal fin. It has a large mouth and eyes. The preoperculum has a spiny margin while the operculum has a thick bony strut running horizontally at eye level which terminates in a spine. The back and flanks are dark brown in colour with darker spots and blotches fading to yellowish on the belly. They have also been described as being Wreckfish are bluish grey on the back with a paler silvery sheen on the underside. The fins are blackish brown. The 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 ...

is with a maximum published weight of . Polyprion americanus

Distribution

The Atlantic wreckfish has a disjunct world wide distribution. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Norway to South Africa, into the Mediterranean and including the

Macaronesian Islands Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of Atlantic oceanic islands ...

and

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...

. In the western Atlantic it is found from Newfoundland to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. In the western Indian Ocean it occurs around

Île Saint-Paul Île Saint-Paul (Saint Paul Island) is an island forming part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (''Terres australes et antarctiques françaises'', TAAF) in the Indian Ocean, with an area of . The island is located about south of the la ...

and

Île Amsterdam Île Amsterdam (), also known as Amsterdam Island and New Amsterdam (''Nouvelle-Amsterdam''), is an island of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the southern Indian Ocean that together with neighbouring Île Saint-Paul to the south f ...

and in the southwestern Pacific Ocean it is found around New Zealand. It is also found off southern Australia from just north of

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

Fraser Island Fraser Island ( Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fras ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, including

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Habitat and biology

Adult Atlantic wreckfish occur in and around caves, over rocky substrates and areas with densely scattered boulders, natural reefs and shipwrecks, a habitat which has led to species' common name. The adults are deep water fishes which have been recorded at depths between . It is normally a solitary species but the adults gather to breed during the summer. The juveniles form shoals for protection from predators which swim and hunt small fish in mid-water. Once they attain a length of they become solitary and look for a

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

on the bottom. It is thought that the Atlantic wreckfish can live for as much as ninety years. They feed mainly on bottom dwelling fish, squid and cuttlefish but they will also take crustaceans and octopuses. They are probably best described as opportunistic, with one record of a ROV camera filming a large congregation of small sharks feeding on a dead swordfish, with one of them being caught and swallowed whole by this species of wreckfish. They have no known predators as adults, but juvenile specimens may be threatened by large bony fishes or

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

Conservation and usage

The Atlantic wreckfish is a commercially valuable species and is valued as a food fish in some parts of its range. Large wreckfish may be divided into steaks, while smaller fish are filleted or baked whole. In North and South America wreckfish are sold frozen in supermarkets or grocery stores or marketed fresh from fish counters. They are caught in trawler nets or by long lines and gill nets, or occasionally by small-scale fisheries which use rod and line. Overall the stock is assessed by the IUCN as data deficient but some stocks, such as the Mediterranean stock have been assessed as being at greater risk.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q235822 Polyprionidae Fish described in 1801