Channichthyidae
Sign in to saveAlso known as crocodile icefish, white-blooded fish
The crocodile icefish or white-blooded fish comprise a family (Channichthyidae) of notothenioid fish found in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. They are the only known vertebrates to lack hemoglobin in their blood as adults. Icefish populations are known to reside in the Atlantic and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean, as well as the continental shelf waters surrounding Antarctica. Water temperatures in these regions remain relatively stable, generally ranging from . One icefish, Champsocephalus esox, is distributed north of the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone. At least 16 species of crocod
Species
crocodile icefishes
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassTeleostei
- OrderPerciformes
- FamilyChannichthyidae
Les Channichthyidae (poissons des glaces) sont une famille de poissons perciformes trouvés dans les eaux froides autour de l'Antarctique et le sud de l'Amérique du Sud. Cette famille comporte onze genres et quinze espèces.
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 221
- Family
- Channichthyidae
- Collections
- CUMV, NMV, YPM, USNM, VIMS
- Recorded in
- Antarctica, United Kingdom
~12 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Genera
- Diet and body size
- Respiratory and circulatory system
- Evolution
- Loss of hemoglobin
- Loss of myoglobin
- Environmental reasons for trait fix
- Cardiovascular physiology reasons for trait fix
- References
- External links
The crocodile icefish or white-blooded fish comprise a family (Channichthyidae) of notothenioid fish found in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. They are the only known vertebrates to lack hemoglobin in their blood as adults. Icefish populations are known to reside in the Atlantic and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean, as well as the continental shelf waters surrounding Antarctica. Water temperatures in these regions remain relatively stable, generally ranging from . One icefish, Champsocephalus esox, is distributed north of the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone. At least 16 species of crocodile icefish are currently recognized, although eight additional species have been proposed for the icefish genus Channichthys.
In February 2021, scientists discovered and documented a breeding colony of Neopagetopsis ionah icefish estimated to have 60 million active nests across an area of approximately 92 square miles at the bottom of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. The majority of nests were occupied by one adult fish guarding an average of 1,735 eggs in each nest.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Channichthyidae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.