Dissostichus
2 species
Dissostichus, the toothfish, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefish. These fish are found in the Southern Hemisphere. Toothfish are marketed in the United States as Chilean sea bass (or Chilean seabass) or less frequently as white cod. "Chilean sea bass" is a marketing name coined in 1977 by Lee Lantz, a fish wholesaler who wanted a more attractive name for selling the Patagonian toothfish to Americans. In 1994, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted "Chilean sea bass" as an "alternative market name" for Patagonian toothfish. The toothfish was remarkably successful in the United States, Europe and Asia, and earned the nickname "white gold" within the market. Toothfish are vital to the ecological structure of Southern Ocean ecosystems. For this reason, on 4 September a national day is dedicated to the toothfish in South Georgia.
The Patagonian toothfish is distributed circumpolarly near the Antarctic Convergence, spanning the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean, with a few populations near the Antarctic Peninsula as well as the coasts of Chile and Argentina. The Antarctic toothfish is distributed around the Antarctic continental shelf and in the Ross Sea, generally south of 60°S.
Both species are benthopelagic as adults. The Patagonian toothfish has been found between 600 and 1500 m, and the Antarctic toothfish tends to be found between 1300 and 1900 m. The Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish populations overlap geographically in the southern Indian Ocean, north of the Ross Sea and several south Atlantic islands. The Southern Ocean has not yet been fully sampled, so both species may extend further throughout the region.
Dissostichus, the toothfish, is a genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefish. These fish are found in the Southern Hemisphere. Toothfish are marketed in the United States as Chilean sea bass (or Chilean seabass) or less frequently as white cod. "Chilean sea bass" is a marketing name coined in 1977 by Lee Lantz, a fish wholesaler who wanted a more attractive name for selling the Patagonian toothfish to Americans. In 1994, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted "Chilean sea bass" as an "alternative market name" for Patagonian toothfish. The toothfish was remarkably successful in the United States, Europe and Asia, and earned the nickname "white gold" within the market. Toothfish are vital to the ecological structure of Southern Ocean ecosystems. For this reason, on 4 September a national day is dedicated to the toothfish in South Georgia.
The Patagonian toothfish is distributed circumpolarly near the Antarctic Convergence, spanning the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean, with a few populations near the Antarctic Peninsula as well as the coasts of Chile and Argentina. The Antarctic toothfish is distributed around the Antarctic continental shelf and in the Ross Sea, generally south of 60°S.
Both species are benthopelagic as adults. The Patagonian toothfish has been found between 600 and 1500 m, and the Antarctic toothfish tends to be found between 1300 and 1900 m. The Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish populations overlap geographically in the southern Indian Ocean, north of the Ross Sea and several south Atlantic islands. The Southern Ocean has not yet been fully sampled, so both species may extend further throughout the region.
