Kingdom Animalia Family Nototheniidae Phylum Chordata Rank Species | Suborder Notothenioidei Scientific name Pleuragramma antarcticum Higher classification Pleuragramma Order Perciformes | |
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Genus Pleuragramma
Boulenger, 1902 Similar Notothenioidei, Nototheniidae, Antarctic toothfish, Euphausia crystallorophias, Bald notothen | ||
Pleuragramma antarcticum, the Antarctic silverfish, is a species of cod icefish native to the Southern Ocean.
Contents
Pleuragramma antarcticum is a keystone species in the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.
While widely distributed around the Antarctic, the species appears to have largely disappeared from the western side of the northern Antarctic Peninsula, based on a 2010 research cruise funded by the National Science Foundation under the US Antarctic Program.
Description
It usually grows to about 15 cm in length, with a maximum of 25 cm. When alive it is pink with a silver tint, but turns silver only after death. This Antarctic marine fish is one of several in the region which produce antifreeze glycopeptides as an adaptation against the extreme cold of Antarctic waters.
Ecology
The postlarvae 8–17 mm in size feed on eggs of calanoids (Calanoida), sea snails Limacina and tintinnids (Tintinnida). Juveniles feeds on copepods (Copepoda), mostly on Oncaea curvata.
Antarctic silverfish are an important prey species for high trophic animals, such as the Adelie penguin and the Weddell seal.
