Channichthyidae

blackfin icefish

Chaenocephalus aceratus

Lacks hemoglobin in circulatory system

• Black
• Polar
• Circumpolar Antarctic
• Regional distribution
• Marine fish
• Southern Ocean
• Polar regions
• Elongated
• Large
• Cold-water fish

The blackfin icefish (Chaenocephalus aceratus), also known as the Scotia Sea icefish, is a species of crocodile icefish belonging to the family Channichthyidae. The blackfin icefish belongs to Notothenioidei, a suborder of fishes that accounts for 90% of the fish fauna on the Antarctic continental shelf. Icefishes, also called white-blooded fishes, are a unique family in that they are the only known vertebrates to lack haemoglobin, making their blood oxygen carrying capacity just 10% that of other teleosts.