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Distribution, Size Composition, and Feeding of the Okhotsk Snailfish Liparis ochotensis (Liparidae) in the Waters of the Primorye (Sea of Japan)

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Abstract—

In the waters of Primorye in the spring-summer period, the Okhotsk snailfish Liparis ochotensis is distributed in the depth range from 50 (minimum analyzed) to 741 m; prefers the upper part of the continental slope (200–500 m). In spring, juvenile specimens, to a greater extent than adult fish, gravitate towards shelf waters, while in summer they live mainly on the continental slope. In both seasons, the Okhotsk snailfish prefers temperatures above 0.3°С: in the Peter the Great Bay, mainly to 1.2°С, in the waters of Northern Primorye to 2.0°С. The species reaches 82 cm in body length and 7.2 kg in body weight. The largest fish are found in the summer in the south of the region, in Peter the Great Bay. By the nature of its nutrition, it is a nektobentoichthyovore: decapods (74.6%) dominate the diet, mainly shrimps, fish, mysids and euphausiids play a secondary role. As the snailfish grows, the daily ration decreases from 4.5 to 1.6% and, on average, in individuals 11−70 cm in length it is 2.0% of body weight. The seasonal dynamics of the feeding intensity is poorly expressed, which is determined by living in relatively stable abiotic conditions.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to P.V. Kalchugin, S.F. Solomatov, M.I. Boyko and D.V. Antonenko (TINRO) for help in sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (NSCMB FEB RAS), Vladivostok, Russia

    V. V. Panchenko

  2. Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (TINRO), Pacific Branch, Vladivostok, Russia

    O. I. Pushchina

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  1. V. V. Panchenko
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  2. O. I. Pushchina
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Correspondence to V. V. Panchenko.

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Translated by D. Pavlov

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Panchenko, V.V., Pushchina, O.I. Distribution, Size Composition, and Feeding of the Okhotsk Snailfish Liparis ochotensis (Liparidae) in the Waters of the Primorye (Sea of Japan). J. Ichthyol. 62, 99–108 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S003294522201009X

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