Untitled - Alaska Resources Library

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Rhodymenichthys dolichogaster (Pallas, 1814). Stippled Gunnel. To 25 cm (9.8 in) TL. Sea of Japan and
Sea of Okhotsk to Kuril Islands, Commander Islands, and Aleutian Islands, to St. Lawrence Island and
Norton Sound, northern Bering Sea. Benthic; intertidal, frequently in tidepools, and to depth of 148 m
(485 ft); typically intertidal. All in Mecklenburg et al. (2002).
Family Anarhichadidae — Wolffishes
*Anarhichas denticulatus Krøyer, 1845. Northern Wolffish. To 144 cm (56.7 in) TL. Arctic and North Atlantic
oceans; Greenland to southern New England (Moore et al. 2003), Iceland to Novaya Zemlya; probably occurs
in deep water off northern Alaska; closest records to Alaska are Canadian high Arctic at Mould Bay, Prince
Patrick Island and possibly Amundsen Gulf. Benthic or bathypelagic, recorded from surface to depth of 1,501 m
(4,925 ft). All citations in Mecklenburg et al. (2002) except New England records of Moore et al. (2003).
Anarhichas orientalis Pallas, 1814. Bering Wolffish. To 124 cm (48.8 in) TL. Canadian Arctic at Bathurst
Inlet, Nunavut; Okhotsk and Japan seas to Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas and to Prince William
Sound, northern Gulf of Alaska (Mecklenburg et al. 2002). Intertidal area (e.g., under rocks at low
tide [Nelson 1887]) and shallow water, 1.2 m (3.9 ft) or less (Frugé and Wiswar 1991), to about 100 m
(330 ft; Mecklenburg et al. 2002).
Anarrhichthys ocellatus Ayres, 1855. Wolf-eel. To 240 cm (nearly 8 ft) TL (Mecklenburg et al. 2002).
Southeastern Bering Sea east to Cape Menshikof, west along Aleutian Islands to Krenitzin Islands, and
Gulf of Alaska (Mecklenburg et al. 2002) to Imperial Beach, southern California (Miller and Lea 1972).
A Wolf-eel recently found on the northeastern Bering Sea coast at Nome after a major storm (C. Lean,
pers. comm. with photograph to L. K. T. and C. W. M.) may have drifted there from farther south in the
Bering Sea. Intertidal and to 226 m (740 ft) (min.: Miller and Lea 1972; max.: Eschmeyer and Herald
1983), reported but not confirmed to 416 m (1,365 ft; RACE).
Family Ptilichthyidae — Quillfishes
Ptilichthys goodei Bean, 1881. Quillfish. To 39.0 cm (15.3 in) SL (Mecklenburg 2003). Seas of Japan and
Okhotsk to Litke Strait and Commander, Aleutian, and Pribilof islands, southern Bering Sea (Mecklenburg
et al. 2002) to central Oregon (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983). Possibly buried in substrate during the day,
recorded from surface to 360 m (1,181 ft) (min.: Hart 1973; max.: Mecklenburg et al. 2002).
Family Zaproridae — Prowfishes
Zaprora silenus Jordan, 1896. Prowfish. To 1 m (3.3 ft) TL or more (Mecklenburg 2003). Hokkaido, Japan and
Sea of Okhotsk to Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (Mecklenburg et al. 2002) to San Miguel Island, southern
California (Allen and Smith 1988). At depths of 10–801 m (33–2,628 ft) (min.: Allen and Smith 1988; max.:
Smith et al. 2004); adults near bottom, young fish often taken near surface (Mecklenburg et al. 2002).
Family Scytalinidae — Graveldivers
Scytalina cerdale Jordan & Gilbert, 1880. Graveldiver. To 15.2 cm (6 in) TL (Miller and Lea 1972), usually
under 10 cm (4 in; Mecklenburg 2003). Western Aleutian Islands (Mecklenburg et al. 2002) to Diablo
Cove, central California (Miller and Lea 1972). Benthic; intertidal, including tidepools, and to depth of
7.6 m (25 ft; Eschmeyer and Herald 1983).
Family Trichodontidae — Sandfishes
Most systematists classify the family Trichodontidae within the order Perciformes (e.g., Nelson 1994, Eschmeyer
1998). Recent morphological and molecular evidence indicates classification within the Scorpaeniformes
as a cottoid family (Smith and Wheeler 2004) may more correctly reflect relationships.