An Atlantic cod in profile.

Atlantic cod (*Gadus morhua*).

Creator: NOAA Photo Library, Historic NMFS Collection (Image ID figb0314; photographer not identified)

Licence: Public domain

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Species record

Atlantic Cod

Gadus morhua

Explore the Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) species record in The Ark Is Earth, including classification, habitat, distribution, conservation information, and sources.

Summary

The Atlantic Cod is a cold-water marine fish of the North Atlantic, including coastal and continental-shelf waters near Canada and Norway. It is a mobile predator that feeds on fishes and invertebrates and gathers to spawn in particular areas. Cod supports major food fisheries. The cited global IUCN assessment classified Atlantic cod as Vulnerable on 1 August 1996 and is marked ‘Needs Updating’; NOAA’s Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank information concerns separate U.S. fishery stocks.

Classification in this archive

  1. Kingdom: Animals
  2. Phylum: Chordates
  3. Subphylum: Vertebrates
  4. Class: Actinopterygii
  5. Order: Gadiformes
  6. Family: Gadidae
  7. Genus: Gadus
  8. Species: Gadus morhua

Habitat and distribution

Selected documented locations — not a complete species range.

Habitat
coastal ocean, continental shelf
Selected regions
Europe, North America
Selected countries
Canada, Norway

Conservation status

The Ark records: Vulnerable.

Did you know?

  • Atlantic cod sometimes make nighttime trips from the seafloor into the water above.
  • Cod eggs drift in open water for two to three weeks before hatching; larvae later descend toward the seabed.

More images

An Atlantic cod in an aquarium.

Atlantic cod (*Gadus morhua*) in an aquarium.

Creator: Hans-Petter Fjeld

Licence: CC BY-SA 2.5

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Sources and attribution