Page 350 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

348 ANIMAL LIFE

ORDER LAMPRIFORMES ORDER LAMPRIFORMES legends. Its bizarre appearance is ORDER GADIFORMES
enhanced by a crest of long red rays
Opah Oarfish on its short, bluish head. These are Bib
followed by a bright red dorsal fin that
Lampris guttatus Regalecus glesne runs the length of its silver body, Trisopterus luscus
LENGTH Up to 6 ft (2 m) LENGTH which is marked with black streaks LENGTH Up to 18 in
Up to 36 ft (11 m) and spots. Its name comes from the (46 cm)
WEIGHT 110–600 lb
1
(50–275 kg) WEIGHT pelvic fins, both of which extend as a WEIGHT Up to 5 / 2 lb
Up to 600 lb (270 kg) single, long ray ending in an expanded (2.5 kg)
DEPTH 330–1,300 ft
(100–400 m) DEPTH 0–3,300 ft tip, which looks like the blade of an DEPTH 10–330 ft
(0–1,000 m) oar. In the open ocean, the oarfish (3–100 m)
DISTRIBUTION Tropical, subtropical, and temperate DISTRIBUTION Tropical, subtropical, and temperate drifts in the currents, feeding on DISTRIBUTION Temperate waters of northeastern
waters worldwide waters worldwide other fish and squid, its great length Atlantic and western Mediterranean
protecting it from most predators.
Roaming the oceans worldwide, At up to 36 ft (11 m) in length, Although it lives in tropical and
the opah leads a nomadic existence. the oarfish is the longest bony fish temperate waters worldwide, the
Shaped like a gigantic oval dinner plate, known to science and is thought to oarfish is rarely caught or seen alive,
this colorful fish is a steely blue and be responsible for many sea serpent so little is known about its behavior.
green with silvery spots and red fins.
Although it is toothless, the opah is an
efficient hunter, catching squid and
small fish. Rather than using its tail to
swim, like most fish, it flies through
the water by beating its long, narrow
pectoral fins like a pair of wings.
Opah regularly reach a weight of Divers often see shoals of striped bib
110 lb (50 kg), although specimens as around rocky reefs and shipwrecks.
heavy as 600 lb (270 kg) have been These are usually younger fish or
reported. They spawn in the spring, adults that have moved inshore to
laying eggs midwater, which hatch spawn. Large old fish often lose their
into larvae after 21 days. Also known banded pattern and become very dark.
as the moonfish, the opah is a The bib has a much deeper body than
valuable food fish in the Hawaiian most of its relatives in the family
Islands and on the west coast of Gadidae. A long chin barbel and long
mainland US. It is caught on long pelvic fins help it to find crustaceans,
lines and with gill nets. mollusks, and worms to eat.

ORDER GADIFORMES The Atlantic cod is a powerful, each female
heavily built fish with a large head, releasing several square-
Atlantic Cod an overhanging upper jaw, and a single million eggs into ended
long chin barbel. It has small, elongated the water. Atlantic tail
Gadus morhua scales. The coloration varies from cod can live for at least 25 years and
LENGTH Up to 6 ft (2 m) reddish, especially in young fish, to mature fish can reach a weight of
a mottled brown with a conspicuous over 200 lb (90 kg), but sophisticated FINS AND SCALES
WEIGHT Up to 200 lb
(90 kg) white lateral line. The Atlantic cod modern fishing techniques means that The Atlantic cod has three dorsal fins and two
is a shoal-forming fish, living in water most cod are caught long before they anal fins. Its small scales have growth rings,
DEPTH 0–2,000 ft
(0–600 m) over the continental shelf, and usually reach this age and weight. Fish over which can be counted to give its age.
feeding at 100–250 ft (30–80 m) above 33 lb (15 kg) are now rare. However,
DISTRIBUTION Temperate and cold waters of north areas of flat mud or sand. Adults migrate Atlantic cod and its close relative HUMAN IMPACT
Atlantic to established breeding grounds to Pacific cod are still among the world’s
spawn, usually in the early spring, with most important commercial species. OVERFISHING
Stocks of Atlantic cod were once
thought to be inexhaustible, but
numbers have declined drastically
over most of its range. Cod exist
as a number of discrete stocks that
spawn in specific areas in water
about 660 ft (200 m) deep. The
collapse of stocks in Canada in
the early 1990s led to fishing bans
but after more than 20 years these
are only now starting to recover.
Management of North Sea stocks
prevented collapse, and the stock
is now slowly recovering.

OCEAN LIFE FORAGING FOR FOOD

Atlantic cod feed both in midwater
and on the seabed. They eat shoaling
fish, such as herring, and also
crustaceans, worms, and mollusks.