Wreckfish

Wreckfish
Atlantic wreckfish, Polyprion americanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Polyprionidae
Genera

See table for genera and species.

The wreckfish are a family, Polyprionidae, of perciform fish.

They are deep-water marine fish and can be found on the ocean bottom, where they inhabit caves and shipwrecks (thus their common name). Their scientific name is from Greek poly meaning "many" and prion meaning "saw", a references to their prominent spiny fins. They stay together in schools of at least five.

Wreckfish (Polyprion americanus) are a long-lived commercial species in the Mediterranean, the south-eastern Pacific and the Atlantic ocean.[1]

The fish is commonly known as chernia in Spanish-speaking Latin America.

In popular culture

Wreckfish was the secret ingredient on the May 1, 2011, episode of the Food Network's Iron Chef America and then on the September 20, 2011, and December 27, 2011, episodes of Chopped Champions.

Species

The six species in two genera are:

GenusBinomial name and authorCommon name
Polyprion
Oken (ex Cuvier) 1817
P. americanus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) Atlantic wreckfish
P. moeone Phillipps, 1927 Bass groper
P. oxygeneios (Schneider & Forster, 1801) Hapuku
P. yanezi de Buen, 1959
Stereolepis
Ayres 1859
S. doederleini Lindberg & Krasyukova, 1969
S. gigas Ayres, 1859 Giant sea bass

References

  1. Sedberry et al. 1999, George. Americcan Fisheries Symposium (PDF) 23 http://homepages.gac.edu/~jcarlin/downloads/LifeSlowLane.pdf. Retrieved 5 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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