Creature Feature – Crocodile Icefish
This week is the letter ‘I’, and today’s featured creature is the (Crocodile) Icefish.
The crocodile icefish or white-blooded fish comprise a family of Notothenioidei fish. Notothenioidei are one of 19 suborders of the order Perciform (ray-finned fish). Also called the Antarctic icefish, this is a species of white-blooded fish lacking red blood cells and the protein known as haemoglobin. Instead, is it has antifreeze proteins in its body!
Taxonomy
Scientific Name: Chionodraco hamatus
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Perciformes
Family: Channicthyidae
Genus: There are 11 Genera
© Getty Images
The Crocodile Icefish Fact File
Size: Individuals can reach between 25 – 50cm in length (9.8 – 19.7in)
Distribution: Icefish populations are known to reside in the Atlantic and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean, as well as the continental shelf waters surrounding Antarctica
Diet: This species almost exclusively feed on fish but can also feed on krill and crustaceans
Behaviour: Icefish are the only known vertebrates to lack haemoglobin (protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen) as adults. This is why they appear colourless
IUCN Status: Unknown. The exact population of crocodile icefishes is not known. However, the population trend of one species, known as the pike icefish, has been recorded as Vulnerable. Suspected threats include climate change, overfishing and invasive species
