Tubenose Poacher: Pallasina barbata (Steindachner, 1876)
Subarctic poacher also found, but not commonly, in southern Chukchi Sea
Size
- 21 cm (8.2 in)
Color & Characteristics
- Dorsal part of body and head dark brown
- Underside of head and anterior part of body white, sharply demarcated from dark dorsal part
- Long, slender poacher with mouth at the end of a tubelike snout
- Long, dark fleshy barbel on chin in Chukchi Sea and northern Bering Sea specimens
Habitat
- Subarctic–arctic
- Benthopelagic, above sand and gravel bottoms
- Unlike most poachers, swims well above the bottom
- Intertidal and subtidal to depth of about 128 m, frequently among eelgrass (Zostera), less commonly among algae (Laminaria)
- Abundant in sheltered bays during summer, descending deeper for winter
Feeding
- Feed predominantly on mysids, also euphausiids, copepods, other small epibenthic crustaceans
- Eaten by flounders (Hippoglossus), great sculpin (Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus), other bottom fishes
Life cycle
- Little is known
- Spawn in late summer
- Live to about 5 years
Page Authors: Kitty and Tony Mecklenburg
Created: Feb 20, 2009
