Gadus

Cod (Gadus morhua )

Gadus is a genus of fish of the cod family ( Gadidae ). Their representatives live in the cold temperate and arctic climate zone in the northern Atlantic, the North Pacific and in the Arctic Ocean.

Features

Gadus species are a maximum of 90 cm to two meters long and have a spindle-shaped, elongated body with one to three dorsal and one or two anal fins, which are all separate from each other. Its lower jaw is shorter than the upper jaw so that it protrudes. At the lower jaw sits a chin Bartel. The palatine bone is toothless. The scales overlap. The pelvic fins have a single, slightly longer filament. The lateral line stands out brightly from the color of the sides of the body, and ranges without interruption at least until the middle of the third dorsal fin, after a gap down to the caudal peduncle. Pores of the lateral line system can also be found on the head.

Species

There are four types:

• Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) Tilesius, 1810
• Cod (Gadus morhua ) Linnaeus, 1758
• Greenland cod (Gadus OGAC ) Richardson, 1836
• Alaska pollack (Gadus chalcogrammus ) Pallas, 1814

Use

All Gadus species are of great importance for fishing.