Atka mackerel
| Atka mackerel | |
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| Atka mackerel caught near Homer, Alaska, USA | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Hexagrammidae |
| Genus: | Pleurogrammus |
| Species: | P. monopterygius |
| Binomial name | |
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Pleurogrammus monopterygius (Pallas, 1810) |
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The Atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius) is a mackerel in the family Hexagrammidae. Atka mackerel are common to the northern Pacific ocean, and are one of only two members of the genus Pleurogrammus - the other being the Arabesque greenling (Pleurogrammus azonus). The Atka mackerel was named for Atka Island (Atx̂ax̂ in Aleut), the largest island of the Andreanof islands, a branch of the Aleutians.
The Atka mackerel was originally described under the genus Labrax, but has since been moved to Pleurogrammus. Both names are attributed to Peter Simon Pallas, who published his description of the fish in 1810, roughly a year before his death.
Atka mackerel were once considered to be synonymous with Arabesque greenlings. The combined species would have been called the Okhotsk Atka mackerel, a name now used only for the greenling. The two fishes are, in reality, two distinct species.
Able to live up to 14 years, the largest Atka mackerel recorded was 56.5 cm long; the heaviest recorded weight was 2.0 kg. Adults have five vertical, blackish bands on their bodies, which are normally yellowish. Atka mackerel can be distinguished from other, similar species by the number of spines and rays that they have on their fins. They have 21 spines, and anywhere from 25-29 rays on their dorsal fins, and only one spine (but 24-26 rays) on their anal fins.
Found exclusively in the northern Pacific, Atka mackerel are known from Cape Navarin in the Bering sea, and from Stalemate and Bowers Bank in the Aleutian chain to Icy bay, Alaska. They can also be rarely seen as far south as Redondo Beach, California.
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Wikipedia