The short beard codling (''Laemonema barbatulum'') is a species of marine

bony fish Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...

in the family

Moridae The Moridae are a family of cod-like fishes, known as codlings, hakelings, and moras. Morids are marine fishes found throughout the world, and may be found at depths to , although most prefer shallower waters. In appearance, they greatly resembl ...

. Native to the western Atlantic Ocean, it is found on the

continental slope A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margi ...

at depths between .

Description

The shortbeard codling can grow to a maximum standard length of about and takes the form of a somewhat spindle-shaped cylinder. The snout is fairly blunt and the upper jaw is slightly longer than the lower jaw. There is a short

barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprini ...

on the chin and a flattened spine on the operculum. There are two

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

s with no spines and a total of from 69 to 76 soft rays. The first dorsal fin has 6 rays, the second of which is the longest, and the second dorsal fin originates immediately behind the first fin. Each

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

has 17 to 23 soft rays. The

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s are widely separated and each has two elongated soft rays; these fins originate to the front of the pectoral fins. The

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

has no spines and has 57 to 63 soft rays. The

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

is small and rounded. The general colour of this fish is tan, the dorsal and anal fins having dark edges.

Distribution and habitat

This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean between about 57°N and 4°N, its range extending southwards from the

Grand Banks of Newfoundland The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

the Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

, and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, the depth range being from around down to about .

Ecology

''L. barbatulum'' is one of the dominant fishes in the more open areas of the

, away from deepwater coral reefs. Other fish found in these locations include the underworld windowskate ('' Fenestraja plutonia''), the Atlantic hagfish ''

Myxine glutinosa ''Myxine glutinosa'', also known as the Atlantic hagfish, is a type of Agnatha, jawless fish belonging to the class Myxini. Description The Atlantic hagfish may grow up to long, with no eyes and no jaws; its star-shaped mouth is surrounded by ...

'', and the shortnose greeneye '' Chlorophthalmus agassizi''. It is a

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer o ...

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

, feeding on such invertebrates as

bivalves Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consis ...

, gastropod molluscs, polychaete worms and tanaids, crushing its prey with its beak-like jaws.Priede (2017), p. 110.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2418998

shortbeard codling The short beard codling (''Laemonema barbatulum'') is a species of marine bony fish in the family Moridae. Native to the western Atlantic Ocean, it is found on the continental slope at depths between . Description The shortbeard codling can grow ...

Fish of the Western Atlantic Fish described in 1883 Taxa named by George Brown Goode Taxa named by Tarleton Hoffman Bean