Butterfish

The butterfish is an eel-like species of blenny living between the tidemarks on North Atlantic coasts, as far south as Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts in the west and the English Channel in the east.

This species receives the name of butterfish, from its very slippery skin, from which and its active wiggling, it is difficult to grasp or hold it in the hand.

The butterfish is ribbon-shaped, with a low dorsal fin running the length of the back, a long, low anal fin, a small tail and very small paired fins.

Butterfish are short-lived and grow rapidly; few individuals live beyond 3 years and most are sexually mature at 1-2 years of age.

Butterfish feed mainly planktonic prey including thaliaceans, mollusks, crustaceans, coelenterates, polychaetes, small fishes and ctenophores.
Butterfish