Molva dypterygia (Pennant, 1784)
Blue ling
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Molva dypterygia live in deepwater ranging from 350-500 m and occaisionally to 1000 m. In the study area they are distributed from Morocco north to Iceland, Skagerrak and the Barents Sea. Breeding takes place from May to June in 500-600 m (Whitehead et al., 1986a).
Ling are distinguished from other cod fish by their elongate body with two dorsal fins, the first of which is short and the second long, and their long chin barbel. The blue ling are copper coloured and do not have a marbled effect like their close relative Molva molva. All fins have a pale edge. Their length rarely excedes 130 cm (Whitehead et al., 1986a).
Molva dypterygia were recorded from the Propeller and Perseverance Mounds, the Conemara Field and the Rockall areas during the Caracole cruise of August 2001.
As with a number of the cod fish, including Molva molva, blue ling are an important commercial species.
Ling appear to have only recently been removed from the family Gadidae and placed in the family Lotidae, which has been elevated from subfamily level (Costello et al., 2001).
There is more information available for this species in FishBase.
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