Silver scabbardfish (Lepidopus caudatus)

Scientific name: Lepidopus caudatus Euphrasen, 1788

Silver scabbardfish (Lepidopus caudatus)

The Silver scabbardfish (Lepidopus caudatus) is a marine fish of the family Trichiuridae.

Biology

Occur on continental shelf, along its edge and upper slope down to 400 m (600 m in Australia), usually over sandy and muddy bottoms from 100 to 250 m (over 300 m in Australia). Depth range from 333-620 m in the eastern Ionian Sea. Migrate into midwater at night. Form schools; occasionally found inshore in upwelling of deep water when it appears at surface. Feed on crustaceans, small squid and fish. Eggs and larvae are pelagic.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Lepidopus caudatus
Family
Trichiuridae (Cutlassfishes)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
210
Common length
117
Depth range
42–620 m (138–2034 ft)
Environment
Marine; benthopelagic; oceanodromous; depth range 42 - 620 m, usually 100 - 300 m
Climate
Deep-water
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: France and western Mediterranean to Senegal, including Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and offshore seamounts; Cape Fria, Namibia to Agulhas Bank, South Africa including northern Walvis Ridge. Southern Indian Ocean: seamounts 30 to 35?S. Southwest Pacific: Australia (New South Wales to southern West Australia) and New Zealand. Southeast Pacific: Peru. A doubtful record from Cape San Lucas, Mexico.
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=0.3; tmax=7)

Sources

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

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