The juveniles are silvery in appearance with a pronounced tail fork. The adult has a less pronounced fork in the tail, with body colors of silver, yellow and reddish-brown. The scales are very small, and it has two lateral lines with considerable overlap. Their length is between 25 and 70 cm, and they may weigh up to 3 kg.

Relatively uncommon, becoming more abundant the further South you go.

Predator.

Seals in the Sub-Antartic Islands are said to devour these fish in large numbers.

Being a sub-Antarctic species, the black cod has special adaptations such as antifreeze proteins in its blood, as well as adipose tissues to offset its lack of swim bladders, giving it neutral buoyancy.

A Treasury of New Zealand Fishes: Graham
Amaoka, K., K. Matsuura T. Inada, M. Takeda, H. Hatanaka and K. Okada (eds.), 1990. Fishes collected by the R/V Shinkai Maru around New Zealand. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 410 p.