Scientific Name
Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps

Common Name
Great northern tilefish

Biology
Most common around 200 m, usually over mud or sand bottom and occasionally over rough bottom (Ref. 9988); prefers temperature of 8-17?C (Ref. 5951). Feeds mainly on shrimp and crabs, but also takes fish, squid, bivalves and holothurians. Sensitive to cold water (Ref. 9988), a mass die-off occurred in 1882, after which the species was rare for decades, presumably due to unusually cold water (Ref. 7251). Marketed fresh or frozen; can be steamed, pan-fried, broiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988).

Classification

Classified By

Goode & Bean, 1879

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Tilefishes (Malacanthidae)

Distribution

Region

Western Atlantic

Distribution

Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada to southern Florida, USA and Gulf of Mexico. Probably throughout the northern coast of South America (Ref. 5217); and the Caribbean (Dooley, pers. comm.).

Range

46°N - 1°N

Environment

Climate

Subtropical

Water Temperature From

9 °C

Water Temperature To

14 °C

Depth From - meters

80 m

Depth To - meters

540 m

Zone

demersal

Environment

Marine; demersal; depth range 80 - 540 m (Ref. 5217)

Trophic Level

3.45 s.e. 0.39 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

125 cm

Common Length

90.0 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.7500 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

Vulnerability

High vulnerability (65 of 100)

Resilience

Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.09-0.13; tm=5; tmax=35; Fec=195,000)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated