''Zoarces'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

es belonging to 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 ...

Zoarcidae The eelpouts are the ray-finned fish family (biology), family Zoarcidae. As the common name suggests, they are somewhat eel-like in appearance. All of the 300 species are ocean, marine and mostly bottom-dwelling, some at great depths. Eelpouts a ...

, the eelpouts. It is the only genus in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Zoarcinae. These eelpouts are found in the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans.

Taxonomy

''Zoarces'' was first proposed as a genus in 1829 by the French

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

. ''Blennius viviparus'', which had been described in 1758 by Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...

'' from "European seas". was subsequently designated as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. ''Zoarces'' is the only genus classified within the subfamily Zoarcinae, one of 4 subfamilies in the family Zoarcidae.

Etymology

''Zoarces'' means "

viviparous In animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, with the maternal circulation providing for the metabolic needs of the embryo's development, until the mother gives birth to a fully or partially developed juve ...

", i.e. giving birth to live young, however these fishes are

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparity, oviparous and live-bearing viviparity, viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develo ...

Species

''Zoarces'' contains the following species: *''

Zoarces americanus The ocean pout (''Zoarces americanus'') is an eelpout in the family Zoarcidae. It is found in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of New England and eastern Canada. The fish has antifreeze proteins in its blood, giving it the ability to ...

'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

and Schneider, 1801) - ocean pout * ''

Zoarces andriashevi ''Zoarces'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family (biology), family Zoarcidae, the eelpouts. It is the only genus in the subfamily Zoarcinae. These eelpouts are found in the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans. ...

'' Parin,

Grigoryev Grigoryev (; ; masculine) or Grigoryeva (; feminine) is a Russian surname. It is derived from the Latinized Greek name Gregory (given name), Gregory (Grigorios). Alternative spellings of this last name include Grigoriev (masculine) and Grigorieva (f ...

& Karmovskaya, 2005 * '' Zoarces elongatus'' Kner, 1868 * '' Zoarces fedorovi'' Chereshnev, Nazarkin & Chegodayeva, 2007 * '' Zoarces gillii''

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and Starks, 1905 - blotched eelpout * '' Zoarces viviparus'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758) - viviparous eelpout

Characteristics

''Zoarces'' eelpouts are characterised by having an elongated body and tail with between 101 and 1456 vertebrae, each with a single epural which has two rays. The branchiostegal membrane is joined to the

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

. They have an interorbital pore. 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 ...

contains between 9 and 11 fin rays. There are 6 suborbital bones form a semicircle around the eye. There are sharp, stiff spines at the rear of the

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 ...

, although infrequently this is absent in one species. The largest species is the ocean pout which has reached a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of , the largest of the Zoarcids, while the smallest is the ''Z. fedorovi'' with a maximum published total length of .

Distribution and habitat

''Zoarces'' eelpouts are found in the northern Pacific Ocean and northern Atlantic Ocean, They are found from the

sublittoral zone The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

and

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

down to depths of , some even enter brackish water when

spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

in the winter.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Zoarcidae Extant Pleistocene first appearances Taxa named by Georges Cuvier