Merlangius

Merlangius merlangus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gadiformes
Family:	Gadidae
Genus:	Merlangius Garsault, 1764
Species:	M. merlangus
Binomial name
Merlangius merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Gadus merlangus Linnaeus, 1758

Merlangius merlangus, commonly known as whiting or merling, is an important food fish in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the northern Mediterranean, western Baltic, and Black Seas. In English-speaking countries outside the whiting's natural range, the name has been applied to various other species of fish.

Description

Merlangius merlangus has three dorsal fins with a total of 30 to 40 soft rays and two anal fins with 30 to 35 soft rays. The body is long and the head small and a chin barbel, if present, is very small. This fish can reach a maximum length of about 70 cm (27.5 in). The colour may be yellowish-brown, greenish or dark blue, the flanks yellowish grey or white and the belly silvery. There is a distinctive black blotch near the base of each pectoral fin.^[1]

Distribution and habitat

Whiting are native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Their range extends from the southeastern Barents Sea and Iceland to Scandinavia, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, Portugal, the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Adriatic Sea and parts of the Mediterranean Sea. They occur on sand, mud and gravel seabeds at depths down to about 100 m (328 ft).^[1]

In 2014, their conservation status was classified at vulnerable in the Baltic Sea.^[2]

Uses

Until the late 20th century, whiting was a cheap fish, regarded as food for the poor or for pets.^[3] Whiting was also allegedly used as a filler in flour, beit wheat, barley or rye. In times of shortages, particularly in the eighteenth century, millers and bakers were commonly accused of using ground whiting to cut their flour as the costs of the fish was lower than that of the actual grain.^[4] The general decline in fish stocks means it is now more highly valued. The other fish that have been given the name whiting are mostly also edible fish. Several species of the drum, or croaker, family (Sciaenidae) are also called whiting, among them the northern kingfish (Menticirrhus saxatilis).

Parasites

Whiting and related cod species are plagued by parasites. These include the cod worm, Lernaeocera branchialis, a copepod crustacean that clings to the gills or the fish and metamorphoses into a plump, sinusoidal, wormlike body, with a coiled mass of egg strings at the rear.

References

• "Merlangius merlangus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 19 March 2006. 

External links

• Fishbase.org entry for Merlangius merlangus
• Distribution map and more

Fish
About fish	Diversity Ethnoichthyology Evolution Diseases and parasites Fisheries Fishing Fish as food Fear of fish FishBase Fish kill Hypoxia in fish Ichthyology
Anatomy and physiology	Fish anatomy Fish physiology Estimating age Anguilliformity Bone dermal intramembranous ossification Cleithrum Chromatophore Fins dorsal fin Gill branchial arch gill raker gill slit pharyngeal arch pharyngeal slit pseudobranch Glossohyal Jaw hyomandibula pharyngeal jaw Leydig's organ Mauthner cell Meristics Operculum papillare Papilla Photophore Root effect Shark cartilage Scales ganoine Spiral valve Suckermouth Swim bladder physoclisti physostome Teeth pharyngeal teeth shark teeth Teleost leptins Digital Library
Sensory systems	Sensory systems in fish Ampullae of Lorenzini Barbel Hydrodynamic reception Electrocommunication Electroreception Jamming avoidance response Lateral line Otolith Passive electrolocation Capacity for pain Schreckstoff Surface wave detection Vision Weberian apparatus
Reproduction	Fish reproduction Bubble nest Clasper Egg case Fish development Ichthyoplankton Juvenile fish Life history theory Milt Mouthbrooder Polyandry in fish Pregnancy Roe Sequential hermaphroditism Spawning triggers
Locomotion	Fish locomotion Fin and flipper locomotion Amphibious fish Walking fish Flying fish Undulatory locomotion Tradeoffs for locomotion in air and water RoboTuna
Other behaviour	Aquatic predation Aquatic respiration Bait ball Bottom feeders Cleaner fish Diel vertical migration Electric fish Filter feeders Forage fish Migrating fish Paedophagy Predatory fish Salmon run Sardine run Scale eaters Schooling fish Sleep in fish Venomous fish Fish intelligence
By habitat	Cave Coastal Coldwater Coral reef Deep sea Demersal Euryhaline Freshwater Groundfish Pelagic Tropical
Other types	Bait Coarse Diversity Game Genetically modified Hallucinogenic Oily Poisonous Rough Whitefish
Commercial	Fish farming Carp Salmonids Tilapia Wild fisheries Predatory fish billfish mackerel salmon tuna Forage fish anchovy herring sardine sprats Demersal fish cod flatfish pollock
Major groups	Jawless fish hagfish lampreys Cartilaginous fish chimaeras sharks rays Bony fish spiny-finned fleshy-finned
Lists	Aquarium life Blind fish Fish common names Fish families Fish on stamps Glossary of ichthyology Large fish Threatened rays sharks Prehistoric fish more lists...
Category Portal WikiProject