Sharp-spined notothen Trematomus pennellii

Trematomus pennellii is found throughout Antarctica at depths from the 0 to 732 meters [1].


Trematomus pennellii has distinctive white flecks, and grows up to 25.5 centimeters long [1,3].

Trematomus pennellii lives on the seafloor (benthic) where it is primarily a benthic feeder eating fish eggs, polychaetes (particularly Amithas membranifera, Barrukia cristata, Aglaophamus trissophyllus, and including Ophelina gymnopige, Scoloplos marginatus), amphipods, pycnogonids/sea spiders, and molluscs [1,2,3].


Trematomus pennellii spawns in summer [1].

The species name pennellii honors Harry LL Pennell, Captain of the ship Terra Nova of Scott's British Antarctic Expedition of 1910.

Taxonomic Note: T. centronotus was synomized under T. pennellii in 1987 with some disagreement; some use the genus Pseudotrematomus [1,4,5,6].

1: Fishes of the Southern Ocean. O Gon and PC Heemstra, eds. Grahamstown, South Africa : JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, 1990. pp. 326-327; 2: Polar Biology 13(6):429-431, 1993; 3: Ross Sea Ecology : Italiantartide Expeditions (1987-1995). FM Faranda, L Guglielmo, A Ianora, eds. Berlin : Springer, 2000. pp. 457-468; 4: Journal of Ichthyology 27(4):56-62 , 1987; 5: History and Atlas of the Fishes of the Antarctic Ocean. RG Miller. Carson City, Nev. : Foresta Institute for Ocean and Mountain Studies, 1993; 6: Biologiia Shel’fovykh zon Mirovogo Okeana : tezisy dokladov Vtoroi vsesoiuznoi konferentsii po morskoi biologii, Vladivostok, sentiabr’ 1982 g. AI Kafanov & TS Veniaminson, eds. Vladivostok : DVNTS AN SSSR, 1982. Volume 2, pp. 9-10

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