Species: Trichiurus lepturus, Large-head hairtail, the Cutlassfish
long snout; large eye
large fangs
Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, 1758
Cutlassfish, Large-head hairtail
Very elongate, strongly compressed, ribbon-like, tapering to slender, pointed hair-like tail; long snout; large eye; a large mouth with protruding lower jaw with large fangs; lower edge of gill cover concave; dorsal and anal fins are extremely long-based and low; dorsal fin origin over gill cover, with very long base, III, 115-135, no notch between spines and rays; anal fin inconspicuous, 95-115 minute spines mostly buried in skin; pectoral fins pointed up, I, 11; no pelvic fins; without tail fin; lateral line complete; no scales.
Silvery, bluish on upper back; pectoral fins dusky blackish.
Size: to 234 cm.
Habitat: Young frequently enters shallow coastal waters and estuaries; adults benthopelagic on continental shelf and slope.
Depth: 2-385 m.
Circumglobal in temperate and tropical waters, although absent from the central Pacific; California to Peru, the Galapagos, and probably the other oceanic islands.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine
- Brackish
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Offshore
- Inshore
- In & Offshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Mid Water
- Near Surface
- Water column only
- Near Bottom
- Habitat
-
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Water column
- Sand & gravel
- Mud
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Bentho-Pelagic
- Feeding Group
-
- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
-
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Pelagic crustacea
- Bony fishes
- Data
- Egg Type
-
- Pelagic
- No data
- Global Endemism
-
- East Pacific + all Atlantic (East+West)
- Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
- All species
- TEP non-endemic
- Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America)
- "Transpacific" (East + Central &/or West Pacific)
- West + East Pacific (but not Central)
- East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West)
- Regional Endemism
-
- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- Eastern Pacific non-endemic
- All species
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Island (s)
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
-
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
- IUCN Red List
-
- Not evaluated / Listed
- CITES
-
- Not listed
- Length Max
-
- 234
- Depth Range Min
-
- 2
- Depth Range Max
-
- 385
