Wreckfish (Polyprion americanus) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 40–600 m.
Scientific name: Polyprion americanus · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 210 cm
The wreckfish is a demersal polyprionid whose adults prefer to inhabit caves and shipwrecks, with juveniles congregating below floating objects; it is usually solitary. It feeds on large crustaceans, cephalopods and benthic fishes, and it spawns in the warmest part of the year; it is a primary gonochorist. It is recorded from 40 to 600 m. Its range is the eastern Atlantic, from Norway to South Africa, including the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands, Madeira, Cape Verde and Tristan da Cunha, and the western Atlantic from Newfoundland and the Gulf of Maine to North Carolina, with records from Uruguay to Argentina and in the western Indian Ocean. Maximum length is about 210 cm total length, commonly about 80 cm, and it can live 80 years, maturing at about 77.9 cm. It is a minor commercial species and a gamefish, marketed fresh or frozen, with a low price category. Fishing vulnerability is very high at 78 of 100 and resilience low, and climate vulnerability is moderate to high at 50 of 100. IUCN lists it as data deficient.
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