Arctic Cod: Boreogadus saida (Lepechin, 1774)
A pelagic cod adapted to close association with ice (cryopelagic)
Size
- Usually < 25 cm
- 40 cm (15.7 in) maximum
Color & Characteristics
- Dark bluish head and back with violet sheen
- Protruding lower jaw
- Deeply indented caudal fin with rounded tips
- Lateral line with curves
- Greatest body depth behind the head
Habitat
- Arctic, circumpolar
- One of the most northerly distributed fishes, collected near the North Pole
- Cryopelagic or demersal
- Brackish lagoons and river mouths to oceanic waters over deep central basins
- Occasionally in large schools
Feeding
- A main consumer of plankton offshore in the Arctic
- The main food of many marine mammals, seabirds, and some fishes
Life cycle
- Spawns once per lifetime, averaging 11,900 eggs per female
- Migrate to nearshore waters to spawn
- Eggs and larvae are pelagic
- Mature at 2-6 years depending on region and sex
- Maximum age is 6-7 years
Page Author: CW Mecklenburg & TA Mecklenburg
Updated: March 5, 2011
