Aspidophoroides olrikii, Arctic alligatorfish

Aspidophoroides olrikii Lütken, 1877

Arctic alligatorfish
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Aspidophoroides olrikii   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Aspidophoroides olrikii (Arctic alligatorfish)
Aspidophoroides olrikii
Picture by Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Cottoidei (Sculpins) > Agonidae (Poachers) > Anoplagoninae
Etymology: Aspidophoroides: Greek, aspidos, shield + Latin, fero = to carry (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Christian Søren Marcus Olrik (1815–1870) was a Danish Greenlander who was a zoologist, botanist, teacher and Inspector of North Greenland (where the species occurs). [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Lütken.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 0 - 632 m (Ref. 117245). Polar; 83°N - 51°N, 33°E - 45°W (Ref. 117245)

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Arctic to Northwest Atlantic and Northwest to Northeast Pacific: Hudson Bay and Labrador in Canada and Greenland. Also in the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, White Sea and Siberia (Ref. 4700); Chukchi Sea, Bering Strait, Bering Sea and Anadyr Gulf (Ref. 6876).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 8.6 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4700)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 5 - 7; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 5 - 7. Caudal fin rounded. Upper parts brownish-grey, with a few dark spots or bands, lower parts light (Ref. 4700).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on sand and mud bottoms, at temperatures mostly below 0°C, rarely to 2-3°C or more and salinities of 33-35 ppt (Ref. 4700). Benthic (Ref. 58426). Minimum depth reported at 7m (Ref. 5951). Feeds on small amphipods, ostracods and nemertine worms (Ref. 4700).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Andriashev, A.P., 1986. Agonidae. p. 1265-1268. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. volume 3. UNESCO, Paris. (Ref. 4700)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |