Antarctic toothfish
| Antarctic toothfish | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Nototheniidae |
| Genus: | Dissostichus |
| Species: | D. mawsoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Dissostichus mawsoni Norman, 1937 | |
The Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni), also known as the Antarctic cod, is a large, black or brown fish found in very cold (even subzero) waters of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. It is the largest species of bony fish in the Southern Ocean, feeding largely on smaller fishes and crustaceans, and, in turn, preyed on by orcas, other toothed whales, and seals. It is caught for food and marketed as Chilean sea bass together with its sister species, the more northerly Patagonian toothfish (D. eliginoides). Often mistakenly called "Antarctic cod", the Antarctic toothfish is a species in the (Nototheniidae), a family of fishes abundant in subantarctic waters.