Atlantic wolffish

Anarhichas lupus · The Atlantic wolffish is a marine fish native to the North Atlantic Ocean, living on cold, rocky seafloors.

Also called Atlantic catfish, Seawolf, Devil fish, Ocean catfish, Sea cat.

Atlantic wolffish
Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Atlantic wolffish
Photo: Kamil Porembiński, CC BY-SA 2.0
Atlantic wolffish
Photo: © Citron, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyAnarhichadidae
GenusAnarhichas
SpeciesAnarhichas lupus

Where it lives

Cold rocky seabeds from Massachusetts to Greenland, Iceland, Norway and the White Sea.

Fun facts

  • The Atlantic wolffish makes its own natural antifreeze to keep its blood flowing smoothly in near-freezing water.
  • The largest recorded Atlantic wolffish measured 1.5 m long and weighed almost 18 kg.
  • Male wolffish guard their nest of eggs for up to four months until the young are ready to be independent.
  • Their eggs measure 5.5 to 6.0 mm across, making them among the largest fish eggs known.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).