Editing Notothenia microlepidota

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{speciesbox
| image              = Notothenia microlepidota (Black cod).gif
| image_caption      = Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
| taxon = Notothenia microlepidota
| authority = [[Frederick Hutton (scientist)|Hutton]], 1875
| synonyms = * ''Paranotothenia microlepidota'' <small>(Hutton, 1875)</small>
| synonyms_ref = <ref name = FishBase/>
}}

'''''Notothenia microlepidota''''', the '''black cod''' or '''small-scaled cod''', is a [[species]] of marine [[ray-finned fish]], belonging to the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Nototheniidae]], the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the [[Pacific]] waters around [[New Zealand]] and [[Macquarie Island]]. This species can reach a [[fish measurement|total length]] of {{convert|70|cm|in|abbr=on}}.  It is a [[commercial fisheries|commercially]] important species.

==Taxonomy==
''Notothenia microlepidota'' was first formally [[Species description|described]] in 1875 by the [[English people|English]]-born New Zealand scientist [[Frederick Wollaston Hutton]] with the [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] given as [[Dunedin]] and  Dunedin and [[Moeraki]] in New Zealand.<ref name = CofF>{{Cof genus | genus = Notothenia | access-date = 24 September 2021}}</ref> The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] ''microlepidota'' means "small scaled" which is thought to be a reference to its small, numerous scales when compared to ''[[Notothenia angustata|N. angustata]]'' which Wollaston described in the same [[Scientific paper|paper]].<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = https://etyfish.org/perciformes7/ | title = Order Perciformes: Suborder Notothenoididei: Families Bovichtidae, Pseaudaphritidae, Elegopinidae, Nototheniidae, Harpagiferidae, Artedidraconidae, Bathydraconidae, Channichthyidae and Percophidae | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | editor1= Christopher Scharpf | editor2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp |date = 12 April 2021 | access-date = 24 September 2021 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}</ref>

==Description==
''Notothenia microlepidota'' juveniles have a silvery appearance and their [[caudal fin]] is clearly forked. The adults have a less obviously forked caudal fin. The colour of the body is silver, yellow and reddish-brown. The body is covered in very small scales and there are two lateral lines which have a considerable overlap.<ref name = MLDB>{{cite web | url = http://www.marinelife.ac.nz/species/961 | title = Fish, Small Scaled Black Cod | access-date = 24 September 2021 | publisher = Marine Life Database}}</ref> The shortbased first [[dorsal fin]] has 6-7 spines, the second dorsal fin has 27-28 soft rays while the [[anal fin]] has 23-24 soft rays. This species attains a maximum [[total length]] of {{cvt|70|cm}}.<ref name = FishBase>{{FishBase|Notothenia|microlepiota|month=June|year=2021}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
''Notothenia microlepidota'' is restricted to New Zealand and [[Macquarie Island]] in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.<ref name = FishBase/> They have been found in depths of a few metres off Campbell Island and have been trawled at {{cvt|1000|m}} offshore.<ref name = Macmillan>{{cite book | last1 = McMillan | first1 = P.J. | last2 = Francis | first2 = M.P. | last3 = Paul | first3 = L.J. | last4 = Marriott | first4 = P.J | last5 = Mackay | first5 = E. | last6 = Baird | first6 = S.-J. | last7 = Griggs | first7 = L.H. | last8 = Sui | first8 = H. | last9 = Wei | first9 = F. | display-authors = 3 | year = 2011 |title = New Zealand fishes. Volume 1: A field guide to common species caught by bottom and midwater fishing | series = New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report | volume = 68 | page = 247}}</ref>

==Biology==
In the [[Campbell Plateau]],  [[salp]]s are the most important prey, followed by [[Amphipoda|amphipods]](particularly ''[[Parathemisto gaudichaudii]]'') and [[Percophidae|percophidids]]. [[Crab]]s such as the [[Portunidae|portunid]] crab ''[[Nectocarcinus bennetti]]'' are also important prey. These prey items imply benthic feeding habits, typical for notothenids.<ref name = Clark>{{cite journal | author = Malcolm R. Clark | year = 1985 | title = The food and feeding of seven fish species from the Campbell Plateau, New Zealand | journal = New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research | volume = 19| issue = 3 | pages = 339–363 | doi = 10.1080/00288330.1985.9516100| doi-access =  | bibcode = 1985NZJMF..19..339C }}</ref>

Being a [[subantarctic]] species, the black cod has special adaptations such as [[antifreeze protein]]s in its [[blood]], as well as [[adipose]] tissues to offset its lack of a [[swim bladder]], giving it neutral buoyancy.<ref name = CPS>{{cite journal | author1 = Zulema L. Coppes Petricorena | author2 = George N. Somero | year = 2006 | title = Biochemical adaptations of notothenioid fishes: Comparisons between cold temperate South American and New Zealand species and Antarctic species | journal = Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A | volume = 147 | issue = 3 | pages = 799–807 | doi = 10.1016/j.cbpa.2006.09.028 | pmid = 17293146 }}</ref><ref name = EDV>{{cite journal | author1 = Joseph T. Eastman | author2 = Arthur L. DeVries | name-list-style = and | year = 1982 | title = Buoyancy Studies of Notothenioid Fishes in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica | journal = Copeia | volume = 1982 | issue = 2 | pages = 385–393 | doi = 10.2307/1444619| jstor = 1444619 }}</ref> The [[sablefish]], ''[[Anoplopoma fimbria]]'', is occasionally called black cod, as well, but it is not a true cod. In New Zealand, the [[Maori cod]] is also known as "black cod". They are a common prey item of seals.<ref name = MLDB/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, ''Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand'',  (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) {{ISBN|0-00-216987-8}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2517939}}

[[Category:Notothenia|microlepidota]]
[[Category:Fish of the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Marine fish of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Fish described in 1875]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Frederick Hutton (scientist)]]