Latin name

Lycodes polaris

Other name

Lycodes agnostus, lycodes turneri atlanticus.

Identification

The Canadian eelpout is characterized by its long, dense body that is rounded in cross-section. Its lateral line is mediolateral and usually consists of well-defined pores running along the midline of its body. Above this line, in the anterior part of its body, there is a short dorsal row of widely spaced pores. The body is completely naked; scales are absent even in the largest specimens. The chin ridges are well-developed and ungrowing with rectangularly rounded anterior tips. The lower lip has a sharply pronounced blade in the posterior half. There are few teeth on the vomer (usually no more than four or five), which are pointed or only slightly blunted at the apex but not tubercle-shaped.

Features of fish fins

The dorsal and anal fins of these fish are fused with the caudal fin. The pectoral fin is small. In young specimens, its length varies from 15 to 12% of body length; in adults, it is only 9-12%.

Fish colouring

The body of the Canadian eelpout is yellowish in color. The upper part of its head and body is dark, while the lower part is light yellowish-white. A straight, light-colored stripe runs across the back of the head and connects the tops of the gill openings. There are 9-11 short, light, transverse stripes on the back and sides of the body, extending to the dorsal fin and sometimes to the anal fin. The dark intervals are usually wider than the light ones, with dark but not sharply delineated edges and a lighter center (rarely a light spot). In large specimens, the light stripes become narrower and sometimes turn into irregularly shaped spots.

Distribution

They inhabit the Arctic zone. They are widespread in the Arctic Ocean. It is common in the White Sea and the southeastern part of the Barents Sea (though not found west of the Kanin Peninsula), as well as off the west coast of Novaya Zemlya and in the Kara Sea. It extends eastward to the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea, and the Chukchi Sea (in the latter, it extends northward to 73°30' N), and it is present in the American sector of the Arctic, including North Georgia Island. It enters the northern part of the Bering Sea and is often found in Anadyr Bay and Norton Bay. It has recently been found off the western coasts of Greenland, Labrador, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence but is absent from Iceland and Svalbard.Habitat

They are found at depths ranging from 5 to 10 meters to 190 meters. Adults are more often found at depths ranging from 30 to 150 meters on muddy substrates. They are almost always found at low subzero temperatures and at salinities above 30 parts per thousand (‰). They were once caught in the White Sea at a depth of 236 meters. They are also found in the Laptev Sea at lower salinities (25.3-30.8 ‰) and in the White Sea (26.5-27.5 ‰).

Size

These fish are most often 15-20 cm long, and much less often 23-24.5 cm long.

Behavior

Like other species, they live on muddy ground—or rather, in its surface layer. They burrow into the mud with their tails forward.

Food and feeding habits

It finds its food in the surface layer of silt and often takes it into its oral cavity. The silt is then ejected through the mouth with the reverse respiratory current of water. Its diet consists mainly of various species of benthic amphipods: Lembos arcticus, Melita dentata, Byblis gaimardi, Haploops tubicola, Arrhis phyllonix, Acerops laticeps, Pontoporeia femorata, and Munnopsis, among others. Polychaetes and bivalve shell fragments (Yoldia hyperborea) are less common.

Reproduction

Females near spawning are found in late fall (October). Their ovaries are usually filled with eggs of two or three sizes. The number of large eggs close to maturity (4-5 mm) ranges from 99 to 112.

Fishing

This species is not commercially important.

Relationship with a person

This is a type of fish that is harmless to humans.