Marbled Eelpout

One of the most distinctive-looking Lycodes in the western Arctic

Little studied; In western Bering Sea spawns in autumn to early winter; In Bering Sea, fish 86 cm in length were 7 years old; fish aged 3 & 4 years old, measuring 30-50 cm, predominated

Prey on gammarid amphipods, bivalves (Yoldia, Macoma), polychaetes, and decapods; Eaten by seals, seabirds, cods and other fishes

Benthic, at depths of 8-360 m, usually < 150 m, deeper in winter, down to 525 m in Sea of Okhotsk; Found on sandy mud and mud bottoms

Pale cream to tan body with 7-9 brown or reddish brown bands extending onto dorsal and anal fins; margin of dorsal fin on bars blackish; top of head and nape with marbled or reticulate pattern; Chin crests well developed, rounded anteriorly; pectoral fin rays 18; lateral line pattern mediolateral; teeth widely and unevenly spaced; scales present on belly, extending to sides above pectoral fin and onto dorsal and anal fins in large specimens