Notothenia microlepidota
| Notothenia microlepidota | |
|---|---|
.gif)
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| Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Nototheniidae |
| Genus: | Notothenia |
| Species: | N. microlepidota
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| Binomial name | |
| Notothenia microlepidota Hutton, 1875
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Notothenia microlepidota, the black cod or small-scaled cod, is a species of notothen native to the Pacific waters around New Zealand and Macquarie Island. This species can reach a total length of 70 cm (28 in). It is a commercially important species.[1]
The juveniles are silvery in appearance with a pronounced tail fork. The adult has a less pronounced fork in the tail, with body colors of silver, yellow, and reddish brown. The scales are very small, and the two lateral lines have a considerable overlap.
Being a Subantarctic species, the black cod has special adaptations such as antifreeze proteins in its blood, as well as adipose tissues to offset its lack of a swim bladder, giving it neutral buoyancy. Sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria, is occasionally called black cod, as well, but it is not a true cod. In New Zealand, Maori cod is also known as "black cod".
References
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Notothenia microlepidota". FishBase. February 2014 version.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8