Latin name

Artediellus scaber

Other name

Artediellus scaber beringianus

Identification

In the Hamecon species, the first process on the preoperculum bends upward. There are also many fleshy antennae on the head and the anterior part of the lateral line. The nasal process is absent, and small tubercles cover the vertex and anterior part of the back.

Features of fish fins

These fish have dorsal fins with seven to nine spines and 12 to 14 soft rays. Their anal fins have 10 to 13 soft rays. The caudal fin is rounded.

Fish colouring

Hamecon has a grayish-brown head and a paler body covered with large, irregularly shaped dark spots that line up to form transverse stripes. All fins have orange stripes, and the tips of the pectoral fins are white. Males have an oval black spot on the posterior part of the spinous dorsal fin.

Distribution

This species inhabits the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. It is widespread in the northeastern Atlantic, including the southeastern part of the Barents Sea, the waters off the coast of Novaya Zemlya, and areas eastward from the Kara Sea to the northern part of the Bering Sea and the Hudson Strait.

Habitat

This benthic species inhabits muddy, sandy, gravelly, and rocky substrates at depths ranging from 10 to 290 meters (33 to 951 feet).

Size

The maximum total length published for this species is 8.9 cm (3.5 in). Males of this species reach a total length of 6.0 cm.

Behavior

They are characteristic inhabitants of coastal shallows and do not go to depths greater than 50 meters, though they can reach up to 100 meters in exceptional cases. They prefer silty-sandy bottoms. They live in subzero temperatures and low salinity (33 to 21-22 ‰) for most of the year, but in the summer, they are sometimes found in strongly warmed and freshened waters with temperatures of about 4-5 °C and salinities of no more than 10-15 ‰. They burrow in soft substrates.

Food and feeding habits

Their diet consists mainly of polychaetes and small crustaceans.

Reproduction

These fish spawn in the late fall, laying 50 to 100 eggs. They reach sexual maturity at three to four years of age and grow to 2.2 inches (5.6 cm) in length. Their lifespan is up to seven years.

Fishing

This species is not commercially important.

Relationship with a person

Harmless.