Merlangius
Merlangius merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Merlangius (Merlangius merlangus) is a bony fish in the family Gadidae, order Gadiformes. Other English names for it include Whiting, Spelding, Golden Cutlet, English whiting and European whiting.
Quick facts about the merlangius
It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 70 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
What does the merlangius eat, and what eats it?
Species recorded in published studies and collections.
Recorded prey of the merlangius
The 24 best supported of 236 on record
- Atlantic herring Clupea harengus11 sources
- European sprat Sprattus sprattus10 sources
- Atlantic mackerel Scomber scombrus10 sources
- Norway pout Trisopterus esmarkii9 sources
- Cepelan Trisopterus minutus9 sources
- Dragonet Callionymus lyra9 sources
- Atlantic horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus8 sources
- Putassu Micromesistius poutassou7 sources
- Dab Limanda limanda7 sources
- European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus6 sources
- Sea mouse Aphrodita aculeata6 sources
- Hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus6 sources
Show 12 more
- Atlantic cod Gadus morhua6 sources
- Dab Hippoglossoides platessoides6 sources
- Argentine Argentina sphyraena6 sources
- European pilchard Sardina pilchardus6 sources
- Sand shrimp Crangon crangon5 sources
- Polewig Pomatoschistus minutus5 sources
- Harbour crab Polybius depurator8 sources
- Crangon allmanni5 sources
- Helmet crab Corystes cassivelaunus5 sources
- Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus5 sources
- Temora longicornis5 sources
- Sand eel Ammodytes marinus5 sources
Recorded predators of the merlangius
The 24 best supported of 41 on record
- Atlantic cod Gadus morhua12 sources
- Thornback ray Raja clavata9 sources
- Monk Lophius piscatorius8 sources
- Hake Merluccius merluccius8 sources
- Spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias8 sources
- Grey gurnard Eutrigla gurnardus6 sources
- John dory Zeus faber6 sources
- Homelyn ray Raja montagui6 sources
- Turbot Scophthalmus maximus5 sources
- Saithe Pollachius virens5 sources
- Atlantic horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus5 sources
- Kite Scophthalmus rhombus5 sources
Show 12 more
- Dab Hippoglossoides platessoides5 sources
- Thornback Amblyraja radiata5 sources
- Ling Molva molva5 sources
- Atlantic mackerel Scomber scombrus5 sources
- Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus4 sources
- School shark Galeorhinus galeus4 sources
- Lythe Pollachius pollachius4 sources
- Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus4 sources
- Launce Hyperoplus lanceolatus4 sources
- European flounder Platichthys flesus3 sources
- European plaice Pleuronectes platessa3 sources
- Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena4 sources
Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).
References for these records
- Pinnegar, J. K., Trenkel, V. M., Tidd, A. N., Dawson, W. A. and Du Buit, M. H. 2003. Does diet in Celtic Sea fishes reflect prey availability? Journal of Fish Biology 63(Supplement A): 197-212.
- Globi
- Nagabhushanam, A. K. (1964). On the biology of the whiting, Gadus merlangus, in Manx waters. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 44(1), 177-202.
- Portalier, Sebastien; Fussmann, Gregor; Loreau, Michel; Cherif, Mehdi (2018), Data from: The mechanics of predator-prey interactions: first principles of physics predict predator-prey size ratios, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.8c40mb0. Accessed at <https://datadryad.org/stash/downloa
- Cooperative Research Report No. 164; Cooperative Research Report No. 219, ICES Stomach DatasetImpl, ICES
- FishBase
- Hislop, J. R. G., Robb, A. P., Bell, M. A., & Armstrong, D. W. (1991). The diet and food consumption of whiting (Merlangius merlangus) in the North Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 48(2), 139-156.
- Hislop, J. R., Robb, A. P., Bell, M. A., and Armstrong, D. W. 1991. The diet and food consumption of whiting (Merlangius merlangus) in the North Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 48: 139-156.
- Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s
- Pinnegar, J. K., V. M. Trenkel, A. N. Tidd, W. A. Dawson, and M. H. DuBuit. 2003. Does diet in Celtic Sea fishes reflect prey availability? Journal of Fish Biology 63 (Supplement A):197–212.
- Bar2
- Jacob et al. (2015)
Photos of the merlangius
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the merlangius live?
Not recorded
What is the merlangius?
Merlangius merlangus, commonly known as whiting or merling, is an important food fish in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the northern Mediterranean, western Baltic, and Black Sea. In Anglophonic countries outside the whiting's natural range, the name "whiting" has been applied to various other species of fish.
From the Wikipedia article “Merlangius” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Merlangius&oldid=1361834631), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the merlangius endangered?
The merlangius is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the merlangius classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderGadiformes
- familyGadidae
- genusMerlangius
- SpeciesMerlangius merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Gadus euxinus, Gadus merlangus, Gadus merlangus euxinus, Gadus merlangus merlangus, Merlangius merlangius, Merlangius merlangus euxinus, Merlangius merlangus merlangus, Merlangus linnei, Merlangus merlangus, Merlangus merlangus euxinus, Merlangus vulgaris, Odontogadus merlangus, Odontogadus merlangus euxinus, Odontogadus merlangus merlangus
Other names and names in other languages (75)
- English whitingEnglish
- English whitingEnglish
- European whitingEnglish
- European whitingEnglish
- Golden CutletEnglish
- Golden CutletEnglish
- North sea whitingEnglish
- North sea whitingEnglish
- SpeldingEnglish
- SpeldingEnglish
- WhitingEnglish
- WhitingEnglish
- WhitingEnglish
- WhitingEnglish
- ferretuAsturian
- FherreiruAsturian
- МеджидBulgarian
- MerlankBreton
- morlouanBreton
- MerlàCatalan
- treska merlangCzech
- Treska bezvousáCzech
- gwyniad môrWelsh
- gwyniad y môrWelsh
- Gwyniaid MôrWelsh
- hvillingDanish
- hvittingDanish
- WittlingGerman
- ΤαούκιGreek
- MerlangoEsperanto
- LibaSpanish
- merlánSpanish
- PlegoneroSpanish
- ValkoturskaFinnish
- HvítingurFaroese
- MerluFrench
- LécaudFrench
- merlanFrench
- NaselluFrench
- VarletFrench
- faoitínIrish
- CuiteagScottish Gaelic
- cuidhteagScottish Gaelic
- cuidhteaganScottish Gaelic
- MelanHaitian Creole
- PišmoljCroatian
- vékonybajszú tőkehalHungarian
- lýsaIcelandic
- merlanoItalian
- Nasello atlanticoItalian
- მერლანგიGeorgian
- Paprastasis MerlangasLithuanian
- MerlangsLatvian
- BabbiluscioNeapolitan
- hvittingNorwegian Bokmål
- blekeNorwegian Bokmål
- wijtingDutch
- kvitingNorwegian Nynorsk
- bleikeNorwegian Nynorsk
- kvitingNorwegian
- MérlinPicard
- witlinekPolish
- badejoPortuguese
- Bacalhau-prataPortuguese
- ГолышRussian
- Обыкновенный мерлангRussian
- fihtalNorthern Sami
- lessetNorthern Sami
- molSlovenian
- UgoticaSerbian
- vitlingSwedish
- mezgitTurkish
- BakalyaroTurkish
- МерлангUkrainian
- 牙鱈Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the merlangius
Other species in the same genus Merlangius.
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is Merlangius?
Merlangius is a bony fish in the family Gadidae, part of the order Gadiformes.
What is the scientific name of Merlangius?
Its scientific name is Merlangius merlangus, placed in the genus Merlangius.
Is Merlangius endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
Who named Merlangius merlangus and when?
The species authority is written as (Linnaeus, 1758).
What are other names for Merlangius?
It is also called Whiting, Spelding, Golden Cutlet, English whiting and European whiting.
What class does Merlangius belong to?
It belongs to the class Teleostei in the phylum Chordata.
What eats the merlangius?
Animals recorded preying on the merlangius include atlantic cod, thornback ray, monk and hake. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Which animals does the merlangius eat?
Animals recorded as prey of the merlangius include atlantic herring, european sprat, atlantic mackerel and norway pout. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products · CC0 1.0 · 0.11
Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Merlangius (Merlangius merlangus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/merlangius
“Merlangius (Merlangius merlangus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/merlangius.
@misc{merlangius_2026,
title = {Merlangius (Merlangius merlangus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/merlangius},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}