About Macrourus berglax Lacepède, 1801
Macrourus berglax, commonly known as the roughhead grenadier, can grow up to one metre in total length. Its head makes up approximately one quarter of its total body length; the fish has a slender body and a long, tapering tail. Bony, spiny scutes or scales cover the upper surface of its head, while the underside of the head is scaleless. It has a pointed snout, with a small mouth positioned far back on the underside of the head, and a short barbel located below the mouth. There are 3 to 5 rows of sharp teeth in the upper jaw, and 1 or 2 rows of sharp teeth in the lower jaw. Its large, bulbous eye gives the species its alternative common name, onion-eye grenadier. This fish has two dorsal fins: the anterior dorsal fin has 11 to 13 fin rays, while the posterior dorsal fin runs along the back all the way to the tip of the tail. The anal fin is similarly long and narrow, and the species lacks a separate tail fin. The entire body is covered in large, ridged, spiny scales. The fish is generally grey in overall colour, darker on its underside, with dark fins and dark edges on some of its scales. This species is found in the North Atlantic Ocean, at depths ranging from 200 to 2,000 metres (660 to 6,560 ft), in water temperatures below 5.4 °C (41.7 °F). Its distribution includes waters around Greenland and Iceland. In the western North Atlantic, its range extends north from Bear Seamount, Norfolk Canyon, and Georges Bank to Labrador and the Davis Strait. In the eastern North Atlantic, its range extends north from Ireland to the Faeroe Islands, Norway, Spitzbergen, and the Barents Sea.
