Gadus morhua
Linnaeus, 1758 · speciesAt a glance
Sources16 archives
Databases and archives Gadus morhua's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation16 languages↗
Animal Diversity WebUniv. of Michigan MZspecies account↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility2 463 367 records↗
OBISOcean Biodiversity Information System3 076 163 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI82 525 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics716 specimens↗
FooDBThe Metabolomics Innovation Centrecompounds↗
foodatlascompounds
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
Catalogue of LifeCOLtaxonomy↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is a benthopelagic fish of the family Gadidae, widely consumed by humans. It is also commercially known as cod or codling.Atlantic Cod . Seafood Portal. Dry cod may be prepared as unsalted stockfish,Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "milwell, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2002.Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "stock-fish | 'stockfish, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1917. and as cured salt cod or clipfish. In the western Atlantic Ocean, cod has a distribution north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and around both coasts of Greenland and the Labrador Sea; in the eastern Atlantic, it is found from the Bay of Biscay north to the Arctic Ocean, including the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, Sea of the Hebrides,C.Michael Hogan, (2011) Sea of the Hebrides . Eds. P. Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC. areas around Iceland and the Barents Sea. Atlantic cod can live for up to 25 years and typically grow up to 100–140 cm, but individuals in excess of 180 cm and 50 kg have been caught. They will attain sexual maturity between ages two and eight with this varying between populations and has varied over time. Colouring is brown or green, with spots on the dorsal side, shading to silver ventrally. A stripe along its lateral line (used to detect vibrations) is clearly visible. Its habitat ranges from the coastal shoreline down to 300 m along the continental shelf. Atlantic cod is one of the most heavily fished species. Atlantic cod was fished for a thousand years by north European fishers who followed it across the North Atlantic Ocean to North America. It supported the US and Canada fishing economy until 1992, when there was a ban on fishing cod. Several cod stocks collapsed in the 1990s (decline of more than 95% of maximum historical biomass) and have failed to fully recover even with the cessation of fishing. This absence of the apex predator has led to a trophic cascade in many areas. Many other cod stocks remain at risk. The Atlantic cod is labelled vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, per a 1996 assessment that the IUCN notes needs updating. A 2013 assessment covering only Europe shows the Atlantic cod has rebounded in Europe, and it has been relabelled least concern.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology2
Life cycle & reproduction3
Habitat & environment3
Uses & economy1
Other traits3
Compounds documented for Gadus morhua across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds95 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| L-Glutamic acid | 9,378 mg/100g | FooDB | |
| Sodium | 7,027 mg/100g | FooDB | |
| L-Aspartic acid | 6,433 mg/100g | FooDB | |
| epsilon-Polylysine | 5,769 mg/100g | FooDB | |
| L-Leucine | 5,106 mg/100g | FooDB | |
| L-Alanine | 3,799 mg/100g | FooDB | |
| Arginine | 3,759 mg/100g | FooDB | |
| Glycine | 3,015 mg/100g | FooDB |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Gadus morhua has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
Besides the big genome in the nucleus, cells carry a small, circular loop of DNA inside the cell's energy factories — the mitochondria. It is inherited almost only from the mother and is a leftover from ancient bacteria that moved into the cell. The mitochondrial markers above (ND*, COX, CYTB…) are read from exactly this loop. Outer ring = one strand, inner ring = the other.
The complete instruction manual Gadus morhua carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type5 539 530 records
Origin
Range
Depth
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions24 of 69 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| ICESlocation not on record | 29 035 |
| 730location not on record | 5 900 |
| The Atlantic reference Centrelocation not on record | 3 909 |
| FishBaselocation not on record | 3 832 |
| VLIZ | ILVOlocation not on record | 1 590 |
| Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO)location not on record | 1 018 |
| Ilvolocation not on record | 447 |
| RWSlocation not on record | 417 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 242 |
| Toronto, CA | 135 |
| Copenhagen, DK | 130 |
| Maurice Lamontagne Institutelocation not on record | 124 |
| Stockholm, SE | 87 |
| ArcODlocation not on record | 82 |
| DASSHlocation not on record | 73 |
| Tromsø, NO | 69 |
| Zoologisches Museum Hamburglocation not on record | 59 |
| Stockholm, SE | 55 |
| Cambridge, US | 45 |
| Bergen, NO | 43 |
| Nova Scotia Museumlocation not on record | 38 |
| CLO/ILVOlocation not on record | 38 |
| Helsinki, FI | 38 |
| Museum national d'Histoire naturellelocation not on record | 35 |
| Paris, FR | 34 |
| Washington, US | 29 |
| Frankfurt am Main | 28 |
| New Haven, US | 28 |
| Norwegian Institute of Marine Researchlocation not on record | 26 |
| 16 | |
| VUB/UGentlocation not on record | 14 |
| NHMOlocation not on record | 13 |
| NTNU-VMlocation not on record | 8 |
| Chicago, US | 8 |
| Oulu, FI | 7 |
| PNHSlocation not on record | 7 |
| The Atlantic Reference Centre (ARC)location not on record | 7 |
| Brandeis Universitylocation not on record | 7 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 6 |
| University of Victorialocation not on record | 6 |
| ICM-CSIClocation not on record | 6 |
| Los Angeles, US | 5 |
| South Kensington, GB | 4 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 4 |
| Vlaams Instituut voor de Zeelocation not on record | 4 |
| Johanna Bergkvistlocation not on record | 4 |
| North Carolina Museum of Natural Scienceslocation not on record | 4 |
| MZLUlocation not on record | 4 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 4 |
| Vancouver, CA | 4 |
| South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversitylocation not on record | 3 |
| CASlocation not on record | 3 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 3 |
| SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung Münchenlocation not on record | 3 |
| Tilburg, NL | 2 |
| University of California San Diegolocation not on record | 2 |
| CLOlocation not on record | 2 |
| UWFClocation not on record | 2 |
| Brussels, BE | 2 |
| University of Oslo, Natural History Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Méxicolocation not on record | 1 |
| Citadel Hill, GB | 1 |
| Bangor Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| RBINS-Scientific Heritagelocation not on record | 1 |
| Champaign, US | 1 |
| University of Nebraskalocation not on record | 1 |
| Societat Balear d’Història Naturallocation not on record | 1 |
| Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
| Ohio State University - Fish Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM)location not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Gadus morhua was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Measured at samplingin-field
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.