Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus)

Scientific name: Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, 1758

Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus)

The Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Trichiuridae.

Biology

Generally over muddy bottoms of shallow coastal waters. Often enter estuaries. Juveniles feed mostly on euphausiids, small pelagic planktonic crustaceans and small fishes; adults feed mainly on fishes and occasionally on squids and crustaceans. Adults and juveniles have opposing complementary vertical diurnal feeding migration. Large adults usually feed near the surface during the daytime and migrate to the bottom at night. Juveniles and small adults form schools 100 m above the bottom during the daytime and form loose feeding aggregations at night near the surface. Pelagic eggs and larvae. Max weight of 1.5 kg given in seems too low. The current angling world record was caught in Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay and weighed 3.69 kg. Commercial fisherman have caught fish of up to 5 kg

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Trichiurus lepturus
Family
Trichiuridae (Cutlassfishes)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
234
Common length
100.0
Depth range
0–589 m (0–1932 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; amphidromous; depth range 0 - 589 m, usually 100 - 350 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Throughout tropical and temperate waters of the world. Trichiurus japonicus which was originally described from Japan as Trichiurus lepturus japonicus was synonymized with Trichiurus lepturus. Another nominal species synonymized with Trichiurus lepturus is Trichiurus nitens from the eastern Pacific Ocean (California to Peru).
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.25-0.29; tm=2; tmax=15)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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