Cyclopterus
Cyclopterus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
Family: | Cyclopteridae |
Genus: | |
Species: | C. lumpus
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Binomial name | |
Cyclopterus lumpus Linnaeus, 1758
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Synonyms[3][4] | |
Genus
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Cyclopterus is a genus of marine
Taxonomy
Cyclopterus and C. lumpus were both first formally
Etymology
Cyclopterus is a compound of cyclos, meaning 'ring', with pteros, which means 'fin'. This is a reference to the pelvic fins being modified into a suction disc. The specific name lumpus is derived from the Anglo-Saxon lump and the fish was callued Lumpus anglorum by Gessner in 1558. This seems to refer to the dorsal fin being embedded in the thick and tubercular skin on the back, creating the impression of a hump.[9]
Description
Cyclopterus is sexually dimorphic with females reaching larger sizes than the males. Males typically reach 30–40 cm (12–16 in) in length while females can typically grow up to 50 cm (20 in) in length and 5 kg (11 lb 0 oz) in weight.[10] The largest specimen recorded measured 61 cm (24 in) in length,[3] and 9.6 kg (21 lb 3 oz) in weight.[11] In the brackish water of the Baltic Sea, it usually does not surpass 20 cm (8 in).[10] The body is ball-like. It has a knobbly, ridged back and three large bony tubercles on each flank. Its pelvic fins form suction discs which it uses to attach strongly to rocks or other surfaces. The head and the pectoral fins of males are larger than those of females. It has a jelly-like layer of fat under the skin. Its colour is highly variable; bluish, greyish, olive, yellowish or brownish.[12] Mature males turn orange-reddish during the breeding season.[12]
Biology
Cyclopterus spend the first few months following hatching in tidal pools,[13] or in association with floating seaweed clumps.[14] As they grow they migrate out into open water far from land where they live in the pelagic zone[15] feeding upon gelatinous zooplankton, fish eggs and small crustaceans.[16] When they reach maturity they will migrate to coastal areas in spring to breed. During the breeding season, males change colour, taking on a reddish/orange colouration. The population spawns over many months with spawning fish being caught in Iceland from March until August.[17] Females which have spawned during the previous year tend to return to the same area when spawning again. They will also return at a similar time of year i.e. individuals which spawned early and late in the season will return to spawn early and late in the season the following year.[18] A single female will lay 50,000–220,000 eggs which are laid in two batches of roughly equal size 1–2 weeks apart.[19][20][17] The eggs are between 2.2 and 2.5 millimetres (11⁄128 and 13⁄128 in) in diameter and the ovary can account for up to one third of the weight of the female fish before spawning.[17]
The female will lay the eggs in a nest area pre-selected by the male, which will usually consist of a rocky outcrop or boulders on the seabed.[21] The nest is in relatively shallow water (<10 metres (33 ft)) and may even be in the intertidal zone.[21] The male also guards and cares for the eggs by fanning them with his fins during the month-long incubation period.[21]
Several aspects of their biology (i.e. lack of a
Juvenile lumpfish exhibit biofluorescence,[27]
Fishery
Cyclopterus is fished for its roe, landings of lumpfish roe varied from approximately 2,000–8,000 metric tons (2,200–8,800 short tons) from 1977 to 2018. In recent years, Iceland and Greenland have been the two largest fishing nations in regards to lumpfish and account for >95% of the global catch.[28][29] Historically, Norway and Canada also contributed significant amounts but due to a decrease in the price of salted roe, and a severe population decline in Canada,[30] the contribution from these countries has decreased.[28] Denmark and Sweden have also contributed but the amount has been low in comparison with the other countries.[29] Female fish are the main target for the fishery which utilizes the roe to make lumpfish caviar.[29] Lumpfish are targeted close to the shore, where they come to spawn, using small fishing boats (generally less than 15 m or 49 ft) with large mesh gillnets.[29] Due to the smaller size of the male, very few are caught in the large meshes. Traditionally, the roe would be removed at sea and the bodies disposed of. In Iceland, it is now mandatory for the bodies to be landed;[31] these are now frozen and exported, mainly to China.
In Iceland, there is also the tradition of catching the male fish, mainly for the local market. This is done using gillnets with a smaller mesh size than that used for the females. The males are targeted in January–February, which is earlier than the females which are targeted from March until August.
Population status
Cyclopterus populations in both Iceland and Norway, the population is monitored using data from scientific surveys and is currently above the long term average and considered to be healthy. In Greenland, no survey data is available and data on fishing effort and landings are monitored. The time series is short for this population however appears to be stable. The population in Canada appears to be depleted and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has classified this as threatened. There is a lack of data to reliably assess the abundance of lumpfish in the North Sea or Baltic Sea thus the population status of this area is unknown. The fishery in Greenland and Norway was certified by the Marine Stewardship Council in 2015 and 2017 respectively with these certifications being valid for 5 years. The fishery in Iceland was certified in 2014 but this was suspended in 2018 due to issues surrounding bycatch but regained certification in 2020.
Uses
Cyclopterus roe, a good source of
They are used as "cleaner fish" to reduce the parasite burden on salmon farms in Scotland, Iceland and Norway.[33]
References
- ^ Lorance, P.; Cook, R.; Herrera, J.; de Sola, L.; Florin, A. & Papaconstantinou, C. (2015). "Cyclopterus lumpus (Europe assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T18237406A45078284. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ "Cyclopterus lumpus Lumpfish". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2023). "Cyclopterus lumpus" in FishBase. February 2023 version.
- ^ a b c Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Cyclopteridae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ISBN 9789086862665.
- ^ Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (Cyclopterus lumpus) (PDF) (2 ed.). Paris, Monaco: CIESM Publishers. 2021. pp. 366p.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Cyclopterus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the originalon 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (25 August 2022). "Order Perciformes (part 21): Suborder Cottoidei: Infraorder Cottales: Families Psychrolutidae and Cyclopteridae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ ISBN 8790787005
- ^ Gordon, Bernard L. (1954). "My bout with a lumpfish". Natural History. 63 (2): 68–71.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8018-9838-9
- ^ Mocheck, A. D. (1973). "Spawning behaviour of the lumpsucker Cyclopterus lumpus L.". Journal of Ichthyology (13): 615–619.
- S2CID 38927968.
- ^ .
- ^ Davenport, J. (1985). "Synopsis of biological data on the lumpsucker Cyclopterus lumpus (Linnaeus, 1758)". FAO Fisheries Synopsis (147).
- ^ S2CID 38574551.
- S2CID 202867448.
- ^ Myrseth, Bjørn (1971). Fekunditet, vekst, levevis og ernæring hos Cyclopterus lumpus L. (MSc thesis) (in Norwegian). University of Bergen.
- S2CID 40205546.
- ^ ISSN 0008-4301.
- ISBN 978-0333059555.
- ISSN 1054-3139.
- ^ ISSN 0706-652X.
- ^ Wienerroither, R. (2011). "Atlas of the Barents Sea fishes". IMR/PINRO Joint Report.
- ^ ISSN 1054-3139.
- S2CID 250282733.
- ^ .
- ^ a b c d Johannesson, J. (2006). "Lumpfish cavier - from vessel to consumer". FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. 485.
- ^ DFO (2011). "Assessment of Lumpfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (3Pn, 4RST) in 2010". DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec., Sci., Advis. Rep. 2011/005.
- ^ Marine Stewardship Council (2014). "Icelandic Gillnet Lumpfish Fishery". Public Certification Report. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-8493-9849-0.
- ^ "Cleaner fish – what do they do? - Loch Duart Salmon". Loch Duart Salmon. 2017-06-08. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
External links
- Photos of Cyclopterus on Sealife Collection