Ophiodon elongatus
Lingcod
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Scorpaeniformes (Lionfish, Stonefish and others)
Hexagrammidae (Greenlings)
Ophiodon
Ophiodon elongatus (Lingcod)
Description
This species account was compiled from
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. Anal spines of adults buried in flesh, third spine closely applied to first ray (Ref. 6885). Head without scales; fleshy cirrus above each eye; large mouth; maxilla reaching almost to vertical from posterior margin of eye. Jaws with small pointed teeth interspersed with large fanglike teeth (Ref. 48751).
Distribution
Northeast Pacific: Shumagin Islands in the western Gulf of Alaska to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Possibly occurring in the Bering Sea (Ref. 6793).
Habitat Associations
Marine. demersal. depth range 0-475 m.
Biology
Ranges from the intertidal to 475 m depth (Ref. 6793). Adults are found near rocks, inshore and to 427 m (Ref. 2850). Young occur on sand or mud bottom of bays and inshore areas (Ref. 2850). Both migratory and non-migratory populations exist (Ref. 6885). Adults feed mostly on other fishes but also take crustaceans, octopi and squid (Ref. 4925). Young feed on copepods and other small crustaceans (Ref. 6885). A very important sport and commercial species (Ref. 2850). The liver is rich in vitamin A (Ref. 6885). Marketed fresh and frozen; eaten steamed, fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988). Has sharp teeth and gill rakers that can cut fingers if handled.
Max length: 152.0 cm TL; max weight: 59110 g; max age: 25 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; guarders (nesters). Eggs are deposited in crevices or under rocks (Ref. 6885). Male guards the eggs until they hatch.
IUCN Red List Status: N.E. (N.E.). Resilience: Medium (tm=4; tmax=25;).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p.
Fitch, J.E. and R.J. Lavenberg (1971) Marine food and game fishes of California. University of California Press, USA. 179 p.
Allen, M.J. and G.B. Smith (1988) Atlas and zoogeography of common fishes in the Bering Sea and northeastern Pacific. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 66, 151 p.
Hart, J.L. (1973) Pacific fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 180:740 p.
Mecklenburg, C.W. and W.N. Eschmeyer (2003) Family Hexagrammidae Gill 1889 - greenlings. Calif. Acad. Sci. Annotated Checklists of Fishes (3):11.
Comments On Ophiodon elongatus