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Zoarces
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<h2 id="taxonomy">Taxonomy</h2> <p><i>Zoarces</i> was first proposed as a genus in 1829 by the French <a href="/facts/Zoologist/6Kj13mBt">zoologist</a> <a href="/facts/Georges_Cuvier/4mmE7NzN">Georges Cuvier</a>. <i>Blennius viviparus</i>, which had been <a href="/facts/Species_description/JyFpxSvJ">described</a> in 1758 by Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his <i><a href="/facts/Systema_Naturae/8o4rU1DD">Systema Naturae</a></i> from "European seas". was subsequently designated as the <a href="/facts/Type_species/kL03T6V4">type species</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> <i>Zoarces</i> is the only genus classified within the subfamily Zoarcinae, one of 4 subfamilies in the family Zoarcidae.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2> <p><i>Zoarces</i> means "<a href="/facts/Viviparous/EEMn4rVx">viviparous</a>", i.e. giving birth to live young, however these fishes are <a href="/facts/Ovoviviparous/sPk5JLTN">ovoviviparous</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="species">Species</h2> <p><i>Zoarces</i> contains the following species:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/Ocean_pout/6IcJXqN6">Zoarces americanus</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Marcus_Elieser_Bloch/QmJ7aoJq">Bloch</a> and <a href="/facts/Johann_Gottlob_Theaenus_Schneider/jntznJbV">Schneider</a>, 1801) - ocean pout</li> <li><i>Zoarces andriashevi</i> Parin, Grigoryev & Karmovskaya, 2005</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Zoarces_elongatus/Qf6zHzN1">Zoarces elongatus</a></i> <a href="/facts/Rudolf_Kner/C4Y9kTWH">Kner</a>, 1868</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Zoarces_fedorovi/YPFm9wwx">Zoarces fedorovi</a></i> Chereshnev, Nazarkin & Chegodayeva, 2007<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Zoarces_gillii/kBmRFghe">Zoarces gillii</a></i> <a href="/facts/David_Starr_Jordan/qLNo5UIR">Jordan</a> and <a href="/facts/Edwin_Chapin_Starks/qFC1eAWw">Starks</a>, 1905 - blotched eelpout</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Viviparous_eelpout/tmEqdzcW">Zoarces viviparus</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Carl_Linnaeus/gy5HWkHS">Linnaeus</a>, 1758) - viviparous eelpout</li></ul> <h2 id="characteristics">Characteristics</h2> <p><i>Zoarces</i> eelpouts are characterised by having an elongated body and tail with between 101 and 1456 vertebrae, each with a single epural which has two rays. The branchiostegal membrane is joined to the <a href="/facts/Throat/JL1UKp5R">isthmus</a>. They have an interorbital pore. The <a href="/facts/Caudal_fin/kS10PMPf">caudal fin</a> contains between 9 and 11 fin rays. There are 6 suborbital bones form a semicircle around the eye. There are sharp, stiff spines at the rear of the <a href="/facts/Dorsal_fin/zAPuxI1G">dorsal fin</a>, although infrequently this is absent in one species.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> The largest species is the ocean pout which has reached a maximum published <a href="/facts/Total_length/eFsVjjTu">total length</a> of 110 cm (43 in), the largest of the Zoarcids, while the smallest is the <i>Z. fedorovi</i> with a maximum published total length of 31.5 cm (12.4 in).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="distribution-and-habitat">Distribution and habitat</h2> <p><i>Zoarces</i> eelpouts are found in the northern Pacific Ocean and northern Atlantic Ocean, They are found from the <a href="/facts/Sublittoral_zone/7SW3Ekar">sublittoral zone</a> and <a href="/facts/Continental_shelf/dpgHAR4U">continental shelf</a> down to depths of 300 m (980 ft),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> some even enter brackish water when <a href="/facts/Spawning/nYF12vfX">spawning</a> in the winter.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=165323">"<i>Zoarces</i>"</a>. <a href="/facts/Integrated_Taxonomic_Information_System/nVg7fQUG">Integrated Taxonomic Information System</a>. Retrieved June 23, 2005.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Zoarciinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 November 2022. <a href="/wiki/William_N._Eschmeyer" target="_blank">/wiki/William_N._Eschmeyer</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Zoarces". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 November 2022. <a href="/wiki/William_N._Eschmeyer" target="_blank">/wiki/William_N._Eschmeyer</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Anderson, M. E. and V. V . Fedorov (2004). "Family Zoarcidae Swainson 1839 — eelpouts" (PDF). California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes. 34. <a href="/w/index.php?title=M._Eric_Anderson&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank">/w/index.php?title=M._Eric_Anderson&action=edit&redlink=1</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (6 May 2022). "Order Perciformes Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Zoarcales: Family: Zoarcidae". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 22 November 2022. <a href="http://etyfish.org/perciformes14/" target="_blank">http://etyfish.org/perciformes14/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Zoarces". FishBase. June 2022 version. <a href="/wiki/Rainer_Froese" target="_blank">/wiki/Rainer_Froese</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Chereshnev, Nazarkin & Chegodayeva (2007). "Zoarces fedorovi sp. nova (Perciformes: Zoarcidae), a new species of eelpout from the Tauyskaya Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk". Voprosy Ikhtiologii. 47 (5): 589–600. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Anderson, M. E. and V. V . Fedorov (2004). "Family Zoarcidae Swainson 1839 — eelpouts" (PDF). California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes. 34. <a href="/w/index.php?title=M._Eric_Anderson&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank">/w/index.php?title=M._Eric_Anderson&action=edit&redlink=1</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Zoarces". FishBase. June 2022 version. <a href="/wiki/Rainer_Froese" target="_blank">/wiki/Rainer_Froese</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Anderson, M. E. and V. V . Fedorov (2004). "Family Zoarcidae Swainson 1839 — eelpouts" (PDF). California Academy of Sciences Annotated Checklists of Fishes. 34. <a href="/w/index.php?title=M._Eric_Anderson&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank">/w/index.php?title=M._Eric_Anderson&action=edit&redlink=1</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>M. Eric Anderson (1994). "Systematics and Osteology of the Zoarcidae (Teleostei: Perciformes)". Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology. 60. <a href="http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/PdfViewer/vital:15033/SOURCEPDF?viewPdfInternal=1" target="_blank">http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/PdfViewer/vital:15033/SOURCEPDF?viewPdfInternal=1</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>