Coryphaenoides rupestris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Coryphaenoides rupestris |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Gadiformes |
| Family: | Macrouridae |
| Subfamily: | Macrourinae |
| Genus: | Coryphaenoides |
| Species: |
C. rupestris
|
| Binomial name | |
| Coryphaenoides rupestris Gunnerus, 1765
|
|
| Script error: The function "autoWithCaption" does not exist. | |
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
The roundnose grenadier (scientific name: Coryphaenoides rupestris) is a type of deep-sea fish. It's a ray-finned fish, which means its fins are supported by bony spines. This fish belongs to the family Macrouridae, also known as "rattails" because of their long, thin tails. People also call it the rock grenadier or roundhead rat-tail. It's a large fish that lives in the very deep parts of the northern Atlantic Ocean. People fish for it because its meat is tasty.
What Does It Look Like?
The roundnose grenadier is a deep-water fish. It can grow to be over a metre (about 3 feet) long. Its head is big and rounded, with a wide snout. The body is small, and the tail is very long and gets thinner towards the end.
Right at the front of its snout, there's a blunt, tube-like scale. It also has a small barbel, which is like a whisker, under its chin. Inside its mouth, there are three rows of small teeth at the front. At the back, there's only one row.
The fish's body is covered in many scales. These scales are packed closely together and have tiny spines on them. The top fin, called the dorsal fin, has two strong spines and 8 to 11 soft rays. The bottom fins, called pelvic fins, have 7 to 8 soft rays. The outer ray on these fins is much longer than the others. The roundnose grenadier is usually brownish-grey. However, the inside of its mouth, around its eyes, its gill areas, and its fins are dark brownish-black.
Where It Lives
The roundnose grenadier lives in the northern Atlantic Ocean. It is usually found at depths between 400 and 1,200 metres (about 1,300 to 3,900 feet). Sometimes, it can be found even deeper.
This fish tends to move around. It spends the summer in very deep waters. In winter, it moves to shallower places. Its home range stretches from Baffin Island, Greenland, Iceland, and Norway. It goes south to the New England Seamounts and North Africa. You can find it on continental shelves and near seamounts, which are underwater mountains.
Life in the Deep Sea
Roundnose grenadiers sometimes gather in large groups called shoals. These groups are often found at depths of about 600 to 900 metres (about 2,000 to 3,000 feet).
Each day, these fish swim up towards the surface and then return to the seabed. When they are on the seabed, they look for food. They mainly eat small invertebrates, which are animals without backbones. These include shrimps, amphipods (tiny crustaceans), and cumaceans (another type of small crustacean). They also eat some cephalopods, like squid, and different kinds of fish, such as lanternfishes.
The roundnose grenadier lays its eggs in batches. Scientists believe they travel to the area around Iceland to lay their eggs. This usually happens in late summer or autumn. Female fish become ready to lay eggs when they are about nine to eleven years old. Males mature a bit earlier. A female fish can produce up to 35,000 eggs at one time!
Fishing for Grenadiers
People started fishing for the roundnose grenadier in the 1960s. Countries like the former USSR, Poland, and the German Democratic Republic were the main ones fishing. They used large factory ships to catch the fish with trawls in the Atlantic Ocean.
The most fish ever caught in one year was over 80,000 short tons in 1971. More recently, French and Spanish boats have done most of the fishing. Since 1980, the total catch each year has usually been less than 20,000 short tons.
The meat of the roundnose grenadier is white and has a good texture. It is sold as seafood. In 2010, the United Kingdom listed the roundnose grenadier as a "UK Priority Species" for conservation. This means it's a fish that needs protection. It was listed because it lives a long time and takes many years to grow up. Its numbers were also going down. There was concern that if nothing was done, the fish could become extinct within 10 years.
 | Misty Copeland |
 | Raven Wilkinson |
 | Debra Austin |
 | Aesha Ash |
