Ridge scaled rattail

The ridge scaled rattail[2] or ridge-scaled grenadier,[3] Macrourus carinatus, is a species of deep-water fish in the family Macrouridae.[1][2] It has southern circumglobal distribution in temperate to subantarctic waters (34°S–65°S) and is found in the Southern Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and in the Southern Ocean[1][2] at depths of about 200–1,200 m (660–3,940 ft).[2]

Ridge scaled rattail
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gadiformes
Family: Macrouridae
Subfamily: Macrourinae
Genus: Macrourus
Species:
M. carinatus
Binomial name
Macrourus carinatus
(Günther, 1878)
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Coryphaenoides carinatus Günther, 1878
  • Macrurus carinatus (Günther, 1878)

Description and life history

Macrourus carinatus can reach 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in total length[2][3] and about 36 cm (14 in) in pre-anal length.[3] The eyes are relatively large. The snout is short and moderately pointed. Coloration is medium brown to somewhat straw color, with darker, sometimes even blackish fins.[2]

In the waters of the Falkland Islands, females reach 50% maturity at 21 cm (8.3 in) pre-anal length and 14 years of age. Males reach 50% maturity at 16 cm (6.3 in) pre-anal length and 12 years of age. Spawning occurs throughout the year but peaks during the austral autumn (April–July). Females also have a larger asymptotic pre-anal length than males, 31 and 25 cm (12.2 and 9.8 in), respectively. Maximum recorded age is 53 years.[3]

Fisheries

Macrourus carinatus is a commercial fishery species.[2][3] Targeted fishery along the Patagonian continental slope reached a peak of 50,000 tonnes in 1988 but declined precipitously thereafter. At present, it is treated as a by-catch species that is not allowed to exceed 10% of daily catches in weight.[3]

References
  1. Eschmeyer, W. N.; R. Fricke & R. van der Laan (eds.). "Macrourus carinatus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Macrourus carinatus" in FishBase. February 2019 version.
  3. Lee, Brendon; Cockroft, Kate; Arkhipkin, Alexander I.; Wing, Stephen R. & Randhawa, Haseeb S. (2019). "Age, growth and mortality estimates for the ridge-scaled grenadier Macrourus carinatus (Günther, 1878) in the south-western Atlantic". Fisheries Research. 218: 174–185. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2019.05.012.
  • Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
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