page_title: Great northern tilefish
section_title: Characteristics
hierarchical_section_title: Great northern tilefish / Characteristics
caption_attribution_description: Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps
context_page_description: The great northern tilefish or golden tile, is the largest species in the family Malacanthidae, which grows to an average length between 38 to 44 inches. The great northern tilefish is a slow-growing and long-lived species, which has four stages of life. After hatching from eggs, the larvae are found in plankton. As they grow into juveniles, the individuals seek shelter until finding or making their own burrows. As adults, the tilefish continue to expand their burrows in the sediment throughout their lives. The diet of the larvae is unknown, but presumed to consist of zooplankton; juveniles and adults feed upon various benthic invertebrates, crustaceans, and fish. After reaching sexual maturity between 5 and 7 years of age, females lay eggs throughout the mating season for the male to fertilize, with each female laying an average of 2.3 million eggs.
  The great northern tilefish has been subject to regulation to prevent overfishing. Regulations include catch limits and gear restrictions to prevent damage to the species' habitat and population.
context_section_description: The great northern tilefish is the largest species of the family Malacanthidae; male specimens can grow up to 112 cm (44 in) fork length (FL) and females to 100 cm (39 in) FL. During their first four years of life, they grow at a rate of typically 10cm/yr after which their rate of growth slows down. They reach sexual maturity once they are between 50 and 70 cm (20 and 28 in) in length Various studies have shown that the life expectancy of fish that survive into adulthood is in the range of 25 to 35 years.
  The back of the fish is iridescent and blue-green in color, with many yellow and gold spots. The belly is white. The head color changes from a light blue to a pinkish mix during spawning season. Specimens have a tone of blue under their eyes. Their pectoral fins are a light tone of sepia, and the margin of the anal fin is a purplish-blue color.
  Lengths at age suggest that males grow faster than females, but the observed ages showed that females live longer. The largest male specimen was  44.1 in (1,120 mm) long and about 20 years old, the largest female specimen was 39 years old and reached a total length of 40.2 in (1,020 mm). The oldest tilefish recorded to date was a 46-year-old female specimen that reached a length of 33.5 in (850 mm), while the oldest recorded male specimen was 41.3 in (1,050 mm) and 29 years.
caption: Adult
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