kelp snailfish
Liparis tunicatus Reinhardt, 1836
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Liparis tunicatus, or the kelp snailfish, is a species of snailfish from the genus Liparis. It can be found in marine, demersal waters at a depth range from 0 to 620 m (0–2,034 ft). The kelp snailfish lives in the Arctic and Northwest Atlantic Ocean among kelp. The species is common, at least around Greenland and Franz Josef Land. A bottom feeder, it eats small crustaceans. At Franz Josef Land, it spawns in March at a depth of 6–25 m (20–82 ft), with the egg clusters attached to kelp.
The kelp snailfish is among the northernmost living species in its family, together with species like Liparis bathyarcticus and L. fabricii.
Wikipedia contributors, Liparis tunicatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:12:05.138918+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Liparis tunicatus Reinhardt, 1836
- Name authority
- Reinhardt, 1836
- Common name
- kelp snailfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Liparidae
- Genus
- Liparis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- suborderCottoidei
- familyLiparidae Gill, 1861
- genusLiparis Scopoli, 1777
- speciesLiparis tunicatus Reinhardt, 1836
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Liparis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Liparis barbatus Ekström, 1833 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| nebulous snailfishLiparis bathyarcticus Parr, 1931 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Liparis bikunin Matsubara & Iwai, 1954 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brazhnikov's snailfishLiparis brashnikovi Soldatov, 1930 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Liparis chefuensis Wu & Wang, 1933 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kuril sea snailLiparis curilensis (Gilbert & Burke, 1912) | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| gelatinous seasnailLiparis fabricii Krøyer, 1847 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Liparis fishelsoni Smith, 1967 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| tidepool snailfishLiparis florae (Jordan & Starks, 1895) | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| lobefin snailfishLiparis greeni (Jordan & Starks, 1895) | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| inquiline snailfishLiparis inquilinus Able, 1973 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Striped sea snailLiparis latifrons Schmidt, 1950 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Liparis arctica Gill, 1864 Gill, 1864 | synonym |
| Liparis steineni Fischer, 1885 Fischer, 1885 | synonym |
| Liparis tunicata Reinhardt, 1836 Reinhardt, 1836 | synonym |
| Liparis herschelinus Scofield, 1898 Scofield, 1898 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Reinhardt, J. C. H. (1836). [Om den Islandske Vaagmaer.--Ichthyologiske bidrag til Grönlands fauna]. Oversigt over Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger Og Dets Medlemmers Arbeider (Kjøbenhavn), for 1835–36: 8–12. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3V9WF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.