''Guttigadus globosus'', the tadpole cod, is a deepwater fish found in the oceanic islands off

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and in the mid South

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

at depths ranging from 1200 to 1600 m. The tadpole cod is a member of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

, the morid cods, related to the true

cod Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gad ...

s (of genus ''Gadus'', family

Gadidae The Gadidae are a family of marine fish, included in the order Gadiformes, known as the cods, codfishes, or true cods. It contains several commercially important fishes, including the cod, haddock, whiting, and pollock. Most gadid species ar ...

). Like the familiar

Atlantic cod The Atlantic cod (: cod; ''Gadus morhua'') is a fish of the family Gadidae, widely consumed by humans. It is also commercially known as '' cod'' or ''codling''.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 ...

s) on its mouth.

Size

This species reaches a length of . It has no commercial value, and is not currently believed to be

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

. Not much is known about this species, being discovered in 1986. The tadpole cod is distinct from the tadpole fish, '' Raniceps raninus''. This fish was formerly classified in the family Ranicipitidae, called the tadpole cods, as its sole member. The family was placed in a different order of fish, the

Ophidiiformes Ophidiiformes is an order of ray-finned fish that includes the cusk-eels (family Ophidiidae), pearlfishes (family Carapidae), viviparous brotulas (family Bythitidae), and others. Members of this order have small heads and long slender bodies. ...

(cusk-eels and brotulas). However, it is now regarded as a member of the same family as cods, Gadidae.

References

* * tadpole cod Marine fish of New Zealand Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Taxa named by Christopher David Paulin tadpole cod {{Gadiformes-stub