blue whiting
Micromesistius poutassou (Risso, 1827)
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
The blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) one of the two species in the genus Micromesistius in the order of Gadiformes, which also contains cod, haddock, whiting, and pollock. It is common in the northeast Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to Iceland and Spitsbergen. It also occurs in the northern parts of the Mediterranean, where it may be locally abundant.
Blue whiting also occur in the northwest Atlantic Ocean between Canada and Greenland, but is considered rare. It has a long, narrow body and a silvery underbody. The fish can attain a length of more than 40 cm. The average length of blue whiting caught off the west shores of the UK is 31 cm.
A related species, southern blue whiting, Micromesistius australis, occurs in the Southern Hemisphere.
Wikipedia contributors, Blue whiting; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:56:54.001686+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Micromesistius poutassou (Risso, 1827)
- Name authority
- (Risso, 1827)
- Common name
- blue whiting
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Gadiformes
- Family
- Gadidae
- Genus
- Micromesistius
- 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
- orderGadiformes
- familyGadidae Rafinesque, 1810
- genusMicromesistius Gill, 1863
- speciesMicromesistius poutassou (Risso, 1827)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Micromesistius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Southern blue whitingMicromesistius australis Norman, 1937 | GadidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Merlangus albus Yarrell, 1841 Yarrell, 1841 | synonym |
| Merlangus pertusis Cocco, 1829 Cocco, 1829 | synonym |
| Merlangus pertusus Cocco, 1829 Cocco, 1829 | synonym |
| Merlangus vernalis Risso, 1827 Risso, 1827 | synonym |
| Micromessistius poutassou (Risso, 1827) (Risso, 1827) | synonym |
| Gadus poutassou (Risso, 1827) (Risso, 1827) | synonym |
| Merlangius poutassou Risso, 1827 Risso, 1827 | synonym |
| Boreogadus poutassou (Risso, 1827) (Risso, 1827) | synonym |
| Merlangus communis Costa, 1844 Costa, 1844 | synonym |
| Merlangus poutassou Risso, 1827 Risso, 1827 | synonym |
| Gadus potassoa (Risso, 1827) (Risso, 1827) | synonym |
| Gadus melanostomus Nilsson, 1855 Nilsson, 1855 | 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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126439 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:42Z4T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.