Anarhichas denticulatus, Northern wolffish : gamefish

Anarhichas denticulatus Krøyer, 1845

Northern wolffish
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Anarhichas denticulatus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Anarhichas denticulatus (Northern wolffish)
Anarhichas denticulatus
Picture by Svensen, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Zoarcoidei (Eelpouts and pricklebacks) > Anarhichadidae (Wolffishes)
Etymology: Anarhichas: Greek, anarhichaomai = to climb up.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 60 - 1700 m (Ref. 58426), usually 100 - 900 m. Polar; 81°N - 43°N, 123°W - 61°E

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North Atlantic: Spitsbergen, Novaya Zemlya, Barents and Norwegian seas, the Shetlands, the Faeroes, Iceland and south-eastern coasts of Greenland; also known occasionally in northern North Sea and Skaggerak and south to Bay of Biscay. Western Atlantic: Arctic, from Prince Patrick Island to Sable Island off Nova Scotia and Grand Banks in Canada (Ref. 7251).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 180 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); max. published weight: 20.0 kg (Ref. 7251)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Coloration bluish-black with indistinct spots on the sides. Flesh soft and watery (Ref. 35388).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits offshore waters in midwater; adults also near bottom from 60-970 m, mainly 100-900 m (Ref. 4694). Epibenthic (Ref. 58426). Feeds on sea gooseberries, medusas, small fishes, also echinoderms, crustaceans and mollusks (not so hard-shelled) (Ref. 4694). Spawns at great depths (Ref. 44162).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Barsukov, V.V., 1986. Anarhichadidae. p. 1113-1116. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. volume 3. UNESCO, Paris. (Ref. 4694)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings search; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
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Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
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Eggs
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Distribution
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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings search; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5938 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.00661 (0.00308 - 0.01417), b=3.20 (3.01 - 3.39), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		4.0   ±0.67 se; based on food items.
Generation time 13.6 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.08-0.10).
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		Very high vulnerability (78 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability
(Ref. 125649) 		Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100). 🛈
Nutrients
(Ref. 124155) 		Calcium = 4.17 [1.74, 17.95] mg/100g; Iron = 0.189 [0.061, 0.592] mg/100g; Protein = 15.9 [13.6, 18.4] %; Omega3 = 0.212 [0.107, 0.446] g/100g; Selenium = 49.5 [10.7, 163.5] μg/100g; VitaminA = 11.4 [2.5, 56.4] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.467 [0.175, 0.940] mg/100g (wet weight);