ocellated icefish

Open encyclopedia reference

The ocellated icefish (Chionodraco rastrospinosus) is a fish belonging to the Channichthyidae family. It lives in the cold waters off Antarctica and is known for having transparent haemoglobin-free blood.

C. rastrospinosus live in the Southern Ocean up to a depth of 1 km. They are most commonly found on the seabed at 200–400 m. They range from the South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands to the Antarctic Peninsula . They grow up to 52 centimetres (20 in) and average 30 centimetres (12 in). The adults feed on krill and other fish.

Larvae are 17 mm long when they hatch, and grow by about 2 mm a week. The larval stage lasts for up to 18 months during which they feed mainly on krill. They become sexually mature at four years, and normally live up to about eight years, but sometimes as long as twelve. In the Antarctic autumn, adult C. rastrospinosus migrate to shallow waters to spawn at a depth of 200–300 m. The eggs are scattered and hatch six months later around April.

Wikipedia contributors, Chionodraco rastrospinosus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:43:07.514698+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Chionodraco rastrospinosus DeWitt & Hureau, 1979

Name authority

DeWitt & Hureau, 1979

Common name

ocellated icefish

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Perciformes

Family

Channichthyidae

Genus

Chionodraco

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderPerciformes
11. suborderNotothenioidei
12. familyChannichthyidae Gill, 1861
13. genusChionodraco Lönnberg, 1906
14. speciesChionodraco rastrospinosus DeWitt & Hureau, 1979

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Chionodraco. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 19 records assigned to Channichthyidae.

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.

1. DeWitt, H. H.; Hureau, J.-C. (1980). Fishes collected during “Hero” cruise 72-2 in the Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica, with the description of two new genera and three new species. Bulletin Du Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Série 4: Section A: Zoologie, Biologie et Écologie Animales, 1 (3) (for 1979): 775–820. 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.

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:5XTFX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.