Merlangius merlangus

Super Group: 
Opisthokonta
Phylum: 
Chordata
Sub-Phylum: 
Vertebrata
Class: 
Actinopteri
Order: 
Gadiformes
Family: 
Gadidae
Genus: 
Merlangius
Species: 
merlangus
Authority: 
Linnaeus 1758
Synonym(s): 
Gadus merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Merlangus vulgaris (Fleming, 1828)

Diagnosis

Diagnosis_Genus : Merlangius, Garsault (1764). La tête est applatie en dessus, les yeux grands, l'iris argenté, la prunelle bleuâtre, les deux mâchoires dentées, le corps blanc argenté, le dos grisâtre, les écailles du ventre petites, arrondies, blanches, neuf nageoires, deux latérales près des ouies; il a une tache noire près de leur naissance, deux à la poitrine très petites, deux depuis l'anus, qui n'est pas loin de la tête , jusqu'à la queue; la première très étendue, blanchâtre; trois sur le dos, jusqu'à la queue; la queue fourchue, arrondie.

Diagnosis_Species : Gadus Merlangus, Linnaeus (1758), Gadus tripterygius imberbis albus, maxilla superiore longiore, Fn,. svec. 294. Qrt. gen. 19, syn. 34. spec. 62. Gadus dorso tripterygio, ore imberbi, corpore albo, maxilla suoeriore longiore. Habitat in Oceano Europaeo.

Body_egg_length : 46 cm (Desbrosses, 1943)

Body_1_year_length : 15-19 cm
Body_2_year_length : 22-25 cm
Body_3_year_length : 30-40 cm
Body_adults_length_mean : 23.50 cm
Body_adults_length_max : 70.00 cm
Source: Cohen & al. (1990)

Weight_adults_max : 3.1 kg (Fishbase)

Sequence_12s_rRNA : DQ356943
Sequence_16s_rRNA : DQ020496

Etymology

Merlangius merlangus: french, merlan = a fish

Type species

The type species of the genus Merlangius is Gadus merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758).

Ecology

Substrate : water
Sociability : gregarious (Cohen & al., 1990)
Salinity : marine
Salinity_adults : 30-35.25 ppt (Desbrosses, 1943).
Temperature_adults : 11 °C (Fishbase)
Causality of migration: Sexual reproduction (adults)

Temporality of migration: Seasonal (Cohen & al., 1990)
 
Habitat : Estuarine (Cohen & al., 1990)
Habitat : Coastal (Cohen & al., 1990)
Habitat : Eastern North Atlantic from the southeastern Barents Sea and Iceland to Portugal, also in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Adriatic 80 Sea and adjacent areas. Rare in the northwestern Mediterranean according to Bini, 1970  (Cohen & al. 1990)
Depth_adults : 10-200 m (Cohen & al. 1990)
Depth_adults_prefered : 30-100 m (Cohen & al. 1990)
Depth_juvenile : 5-30 m (Cohen & al. 1990)

 

Life cycle

The whiting fertility period is seasonal but depends on localization (Desbrosses, 1943).

Longevity : more than 3 years
Generation_time : more than 3 years
Phases_alternance : diplontic
Reproduction_mode : sexual
Fecondity_number_of_eggs_per_adult : 200000-1000000 eggs per female
Fertility_period : Seasonal (during winter)
Fertility_period : Seasonal (during spring)
Fertility_period : Seasonal (during summer)
Spawning_method : External fertilization in the water column
Source: Cohen & al. (1990)

Feeding behaviour

Omnivorous
Predatory
Carnivorous

Mode of locomotion

Motility: motile_swimming

Reference(s)

History of British animals

Fleming J (1828) History of British animals. Bell & Bradfute ;, Edinburgh :

Observation site(s)

SYMBIONTS

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Association with... Region origin Name of site In reference...
Amyloodinium ocellatum Aquarium Zoological Society of London