Gvozdarus

Gvozdarus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the familyNototheniidae, the notothens or cod icefishes. It is native to the Southern Ocean.^[1]

Gvozdarus was first formally described as a genus in 1989 by the Soviet ichthyologist Arkadii Vladimirovich Balushkin with the type species by monotypy being Gvozdarus svetovidovi,^[2] a second species has subsequently been described.^[1] Some authorities place this taxon in the subfamilyPleuragrammatinae,^[3] but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not include subfamilies in the Nototheniidae.^[4] The name of the genus is a Latinised version of a local name for the zander (Sander lucioperca) in Veliky Novgorod, Russia. Balushkin did not explain why he chose this name but it may refer to the similarity in form of G. svetovidovi, especially the long, pointed teeth, to the zander.^[5]

The recognized species in this genus are:^[1]

• Gvozdarus balushkiniVoskoboinikova & Kellermann, 1993
• Gvozdarus svetovidoviBalushkin, 1989 (Naked-head toothfish)

Gvozdarus notothens have an elongate, fusiform body which is broadest at the front. The head is widest at its rear with a flat and wide space between the eyes and a snout which is longer than the diameter of its eyes. They have large mouths which extends to the front of the pupil. The lower jaw protrudes slightly and both jaws have canine-like teeth with an inner patch near the jaw joint in the upper jaw.^[3] The largest known fish of this genus had a total length of 100 cm (39 in).^[1]

Gvozdarus notothens se encuentra en el Océano Austral y el género tiene una distribución circumpolar. ^{[ 1 ]} El contenido del estómago del holotipo consistía en restos, incluyendo una mandíbula inferior, del pez plateado antártico ( Pleuragramma antarcticum ). El pez plateado antártico es el pez pelágico más abundante que se encuentra en las plataformas continentales de la Antártida y esto se considera un indicio de que estos peces son piscívoros pelágicos. ^{[ 3 ]}