Fourbeard Rockling
Enchelyopus cimbrius
Identification
The four-bearded rockling is an elongated, eel-like fish of 25 to 40 cm — larger than the related three- and five-bearded rocklings. Color is light brown to yellow-brown. Distinctive: four barbels — one on the chin, one on the upper jaw, and two near the nostrils. The first dorsal fin is reduced to a vibrating skin fold.
Ecology
Lives on muddy and sandy-rocky substrates at depths of 20 to 300 meters. Deeper-dwelling than the three- and five-bearded rocklings. Feeds on crustaceans, worms, and small fish. Nocturnal and solitary.
In the Netherlands
Occasionally found in the deeper parts of the North Sea. Sometimes caught as bycatch by commercial fisheries. More typical of the northern North Sea and Norwegian coast.
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Seasonal patterns
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Key predictors
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