Gadidae
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The Gadidae are a family of marine fish, included in the order Gadiformes, known as the cods, codfishes, or true cods.<ref name= ITIS/> It contains several commercially important fishes, including the cod, haddock, whiting, and pollock.
Most gadid species are found in temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere, but several range into subtropical, subarctic, and Arctic oceans, and a single (southern blue whiting) is found in the Southern Hemisphere. They are generally medium-sized fish, and are distinguished by the presence of three dorsal fins on the back and two anal fins on the underside. Most species have barbels on their chins, which they use while browsing on the sea floor. Gadids are carnivorous, feeding on smaller fish and crustaceans.<ref name=FB>Template:FishBase family</ref>
Gadids are highly prolific, producing several million eggs at each spawning. This contributes to their high population numbers, which, in turn, makes commercial fishing relatively easy.<ref name=EoF>Template:Cite book</ref>
Taxonomy
In the past, the contents of this family varied depending on the taxonomic authority. For example, fishes in the current Lotidae (with burbot, cusk) and Phycidae (hakes) were included in the Gadidae, as its subfamilies Lotinae and Phycinae. However, they are presently considered distinct families from one another, based on phylogenetic analyses.<ref name="ITIS">Template:ITIS</ref><ref name="FB" /><ref>Nelson, J. S. 2006. Fishes of the World, 4th edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.</ref><ref name=":13">Template:Cite web</ref>
The following genera are placed in the Gadidae:
- Arctogadus Dryagin, 1932
- Boreogadus Günther, 1862
- Eleginus Fischer, 1813
- Gadiculus Guichenot, 1850
- Gadus Linnaeus, 1758
- Melanogrammus Gill, 1862
- Merlangius Garsault, 1764
- Microgadus Gill, 1865
- Micromesistius Gill, 1863
- Pollachius Nilsson, 1832
- Trisopterus Rafinesque, 1814
The following fossil genera are also known:
- †Palimphemus Kner, 1862 (early-late Miocene of Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Kazakhstan and North Caucasus, Russia)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>
- †Paratrisopterus Fedotov, 1971 (mid-late Miocene of Poland, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Abkhazia and North Caucasus, Russia)<ref name=":0" />
- †Semeniolum Gaemers, 1984 [otolith] - (early-late Oligocene of the Netherlands and Germany)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>