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The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)
Gadus morhua, the Atlantic Cod (after ).
Gadus morhua,
the Atlantic cod, is a ray-finned fish of the family Gadidae,
whose fossil record dates from the Paleocene period (65-55 mya). Their
habitat ranges from the coastal shoreline
down to 300 m (1000 ft) along the continental shelf. The
range of the Atlantic cod extends from Cape Hatteras to both coasts of
Greenland and the Labrador Sea, as first recorded in the early 19th
century Franklin Expedition (Richardson 1836); and from the Bay of
Biscay north to the Baltic Sea, and the North Sea. Two other
species in the genus Gadus
include the Pacific cod and Greenland cod. Cod have long been a favored
food fish caught by commercial fisheries, and in many areas have been
overfished.
The adult Atlantic cod is between 0.6-1.2 m (2-4 feet) long and weighs up to 40 kg (88 lb), with males and females similar in size and weight. Atlantic cod can live for 25 years, and usually grow to adulthood in 2-4 years. They show a lateral line stripe along their sides, which is a sensor to detect vibrations. Atlantic cod are a shoaling species and move in large schools, led by larger fish who guide the shoal's direction, especially during in-shore feeding migrations. In an effort to maintain homeostasis to preserve energy, they stay in deeper, colder water layers during the day, and in shallower, warmer water layers at night.The cod is one of the top ocean predators, and their diet consists of fish such as herring, capelin, and sand eels, as well as mollusks, crustaceans and sea worms.
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References
Bleckmann, H. and R. Zelick, 2009. Lateral line system of fish. Integrative Zoology. 4 (1): 13–25.
Field Guide to Fishes, National Audubon Society 2002. Alfred A. Knopf.
Richardson, John 1836. Gadus Morrhua. (Auct.) Common Cod-fish, Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the Zoology of the Northern Parts of British America: Containing Descriptions of the Objects of Natural History Collected on the Late Northern Land Expeditions under Command of Captain Sir John Franklin, R.N., Vol. III: The Fish. London: Richard Bentley.
Romer, A.S. 1966. Vertebrate Paleontology. University of Chicago Press.
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