Antarctic spiny plunderfish (Harpagifer antarcticus)

Scientific name: Harpagifer antarcticus Nybelin, 1947

Antarctic spiny plunderfish (Harpagifer antarcticus)

The Antarctic spiny plunderfish (Harpagifer antarcticus) is a marine fish of the family Harpagiferidae. Native range: Southern Ocean, along the Atlantic coasts of the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland, South Orkney and South Sandwich islands.

Biology

Depth range: 0-5 m on rocky bottoms. Usually under rocks; rarely under algal fronds. A specialized feeder on amphipods, mainly Gondogeneia antarctica. Iteroparous and devotes a lot of time to parental care. Feed on small crustaceans and common in littoral of all sub-Antarctic islands.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Harpagifer antarcticus
Family
Harpagiferidae (Spiny plunderfishes)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
9.5
Environment
Marine; demersal
Climate
Polar
Distribution
Southern Ocean: along the Atlantic coasts of the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland, South Orkney and South Sandwich islands.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Fec = 400)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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