Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Subdivisio: Percomorphaceae
Series: Eupercaria
Ordo: Perciformes
Subordo: Notothenioidei
Familia: Channichthyidae
Genus: Champsocephalus
Species: C. esox – C. gunnari
Name
Champsocephalus Gill, 1862
References
Champsocephalus – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Champsocephalus is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Channichthyidae, the crocodile icefishes. They are native to the Southern Ocean.
Taxonomy
Champsocephalus was first formally described as a genus in 1862 by the American ichthyologist Theodore Nicholas Gill as he thought that its type species, Chaenichthys esox which had been described in 1861 by Albert Günther, was distinct enough to be classified in its own genus.[1] The genus name is a compound of champsos meaning “crocodile” and cephalos which means “head”, Gill did not explain the allusion but it is thought to be a reference to the clearly predatory snout, like a crocodile's.[2]
Species
There are currently two recognized species in this genus:[3]
Champsocephalus esox (Günther, 1861) (pike icefish)
Champsocephalus gunnari Lönnberg, 1905 (mackerel icefish)
Characteristics
Champsocephalus species do not have a spine on the snout. There are three radiating ridges on the operculum each ending in a spine. They have two lateral lines, upper and middle, and these have no bony plates. The bases of the first and second dorsal fins are almost continuous and the caudal fin is emarginate.[4] The maximum standard lengths of these fishes are 33 cm (13 in) for C. esox and 66 cm (26 in) for C. gunnari.[3]
Distribution and habitat
Chamsocephalus icefishes are found in the Southern Ocean. They can be found off South America, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula, Kerguelen, Heard and Bouvet Islands. They are pelagic.[4]
Biology
Chamsocephalus icefishes are predatory and are known to feed on krill, mysids and fishes.[4]
Fisheries
Chamsocephalus icefishes are fished for using trawls off South America, Kerguelen and South Georgia.[4]
References
Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Channichthyidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (12 April 2021). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Notothenoididei: Families Bovichtidae, Pseaudaphritidae, Elegopinidae, Nototheniidae, Harpagiferidae, Artedidraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae and Percophidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2021). Species of Champsocephalus in FishBase. June 2021 version.
T. Iwami and K-H Koch (1990). "Channicthyidae Icefishes". In O. Gon and P.C. Heemstra (eds.). Fishes of the Southern Ocean. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. ISBN 9780868102115.
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