Pearly hairtail (Trichiurus auriga)

Scientific name: Trichiurus auriga Klunzinger, 1884

Pearly hairtail (Trichiurus auriga)

The Pearly hairtail (Trichiurus auriga) is a marine fish of the family Trichiuridae. Native range: Western Indian Ocean, Red Sea and west coast of India. Western Pacific: Timor Sea. This species has long been synonymized with Trichiurus lepturus.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 106-116; Anal soft rays: 80. Body extremely elongate, compressed and tapering to a point. Mouth very large with a small dermal process at the tip of each jaw. Pelvic and caudal fins absent. Lateral line originating at the upper margin of the gill cover, running obliquely to behind the tip of the pectoral fins, then parallel to the ventral contour of the body. Fresh specimens are pearl white and slightly dusky dorsally; the margins of the dorsal and anal fins dusky in formalin.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Trichiurus auriga
Family
Trichiuridae (Cutlassfishes)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
35.0
Common length
23.0
Depth range
250–350 m (820–1148 ft)
Environment
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 250 - 350 m
Climate
Deep-water
Distribution
Western Indian Ocean: Red Sea and west coast of India. Western Pacific: Timor Sea. This species has long been synonymized with Trichiurus lepturus.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Assuming tmax>10)

Sources

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

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