Greenland Halibut
| Class: Fishes: 4
classes |
Diet: Fish, crustaceans,
squid |
| Order:
Pleuronectiformes: Flatfishes |
| Size:
80 cm - 1.2 m (31 1/2 in - 4 ft) |
| Family: No Fish family
information |
Conservation Status:
Near threatened |
| Scientific Name: Reinhardtius
hippoglossoides |
Habitat: deep waters
at 200 - 2,000 m (650 - 6,600 ft) |
| Range:
Northern Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Norwegian Sea, Iceland, Greenland,
coasts of North America as far south as New Jersey; Northern Pacific Ocean:
Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk, south to California and Japan |
 An
active predator, the Greenland halibut hunts in mid-waters rather than
on the seabed, feeding on fish, crustaceans and squid. In keeping with
its habits, it is more symmetrical in body form than most flatfishes and
has a blind side almost as dark as its eyed side. Although both eyes are
on the right side, the upper eye is at the edge of the head, giving a larger
field of vision than is usual for flatfishes. The large jaws are equipped
with strong, fanglike teeth. Spawning occurs in deep water in summertime;
eggs and larvae float freely until the metamorphosis to adult form is complete.
  
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