Polyprion americanus, Wreckfish : fisheries, gamefish

You can sponsor this page

Polyprion americanus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Wreckfish
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Polyprion americanus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Google image
Image of Polyprion americanus (Wreckfish)
Polyprion americanus
Female picture by Cambraia Duarte, P.M.N. (c)ImagDOP

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Acropomatiformes (Oceanic basses) > Polyprionidae (Wreckfishes)
Etymology: Polyprion: Greek, poly = a lot of + Greek, prion = saw (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Bloch & Schneider.

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

Marine; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 40 - 600 m (Ref. 7251), usually 100 - 200 m (Ref. 36731). Deep-water; 70°N - 55°S, 82°W - 179°E

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

Eastern Atlantic: Norway to South Africa (Ref. 6633), including the Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Madeira, Cape Verde, and Tristan da Cunha. Western Atlantic: Newfoundland, Canada and Gulf of Maine to North Carolina, USA (Ref. 7251). Recorded from Uruguay to Argentina (Ref. 9050). Western Indian Ocean: St. Paul and Amsterdam islands (Ref. 6633). Southwest Pacific: New Zealand (Ref. 5755, 9072).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 77.9  range ? - 90 cm
Max length : 210 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 80.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); max. published weight: 100.0 kg (Ref. 35388); max. reported age: 80 years (Ref. 127279)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 10 - 12; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-13; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10. Bluish grey above, paler below with a silvery sheen; fins blackish brown (Ref. 6633). Juveniles have black blotches on head and body (Ref. 6633). Body tall, compressed. Big mouth with big head and a rough bony ridge across upper part of the gill cover (Ref. 35388).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults prefer to inhabit caves and shipwrecks (Ref. 27121). Juveniles congregate below floating objects (Ref. 27121). Usually solitary. Feed on large crustaceans, cephalopods and benthic fishes (Ref. 27121). Spawn in the summer (Ref. 35388). Are primary gonochorists (Ref. 58421). Marketed fresh or frozen; eaten steamed, fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988). Minimum depth reported from Ref. 6633.

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

Primary gonochorists (Ref. 58421).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Sedberry, George | Collaborators

Wheeler, A., 1992. A list of the common and scientific names of fishes of the British Isles. J. Fish Biol. 41(suppl.A):1-37. (Ref. 5204)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Data deficient (DD) ; Date assessed: 30 April 2003

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FIRMS - Stock assessments | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 5.2 - 19, mean 9.4 °C (based on 672 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.8125   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01318 (0.00968 - 0.01796), b=3.00 (2.91 - 3.09), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.64 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.05-0.08; tmax=76; tm=9-10 yrs estimated from VBGF; Fec=3 million).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (78 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate to high vulnerability (50 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 9.7 [6.1, 21.1] mg/100g; Iron = 0.354 [0.174, 0.670] mg/100g; Protein = 19.6 [19.0, 20.3] %; Omega3 = 0.427 [0.332, 0.549] g/100g; Selenium = 25 [11, 55] μg/100g; VitaminA = 7.95 [1.81, 35.92] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.253 [0.178, 0.380] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.