The Banded Gunnel is the only species of gunnel

Pholidae

The gunnels are a family, Pholidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes.They are elongated fishes native to the coasts of the northern Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans, where they inhabit intertidal and subtidal waters and eat crustaceans and molluscs.-Species:There are fifteen species in three...

 that lives in the Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...

. Very little is known about its life cycle or reproduction.

Physical characteristics

The Banded Gunnel reaches about 12 inches (30 cm) long and has a elongated body, somewhat like an eel. Its dorsal fin has small spikes and its skin is covered in tiny scales. Its color ranges from a bright reddish orange to greenish yellow. It has thin, dark red bands reaching across its belly, and white blotches with black spots on its back and dorsal fin. An olive-green and black stripe extends down from the top of the head down through the eyes and down the cheeks. The pectoral fins small (less than half the length of the head), and are fan-shaped. The pelvic fins are either tiny or absent.

Habitat

The Banded Gunnel lives in arctic and subarctic waters in the Arctic Ocean, near Southern Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

 and Western Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

, and in the North Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. It lives in the benthic zone

Benthic zone

The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. Organisms living in this zone are called benthos. They generally live in close relationship with the substrate bottom; many such...

, in sand, broken shells, and gravel. The temperature of the water usually ranges from 5-10 degrees Celsius.

Predators

The Banded Gunnel is fed upon by sculpins

Sculpin

A Sculpin is a fish that belongs to the order Scorpaeniformes, suborder Cottoidei and superfamily Cottoidea, that contains 11 families, 149 genera, and 756 species...

, cods, and occasionally sea birds.