Antarctic silverfish
The Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum), or Antarctic herring, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean and the only truly pelagic fish in the waters near Antarctica. It is a keystone species in the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.
| Antarctic silverfish | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Nototheniidae |
| Genus: | Pleuragramma Boulenger, 1902 |
| Species: | P. antarctica |
| Binomial name | |
| Pleuragramma antarctica Boulenger, 1902 | |
While widely distributed around the Antarctic, the species appears to have largely disappeared from the western side of the northern Antarctic Peninsula, based on a 2010 research cruise funded by the National Science Foundation under the US Antarctic Program.
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