Smallhead hairtail (Eupleurogrammus muticus)

Scientific name: Eupleurogrammus muticus Gray, 1831

The Smallhead hairtail (Eupleurogrammus muticus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Trichiuridae. Native range: Indo-West Pacific, including the Persian Gulf, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Gulf of Thailand, China and southern Korean Peninsula.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 140. Body extremely elongate, compressed and tapering to a point. Anal fin reduced to minute spinules buried in skin; caudal fin absent; pelvic fins present but reduced to a scale-like process. Lateral line running almost straight along midbody or slightly nearer the ventral contour. Color of fresh specimens steely blue with metallic reflections, becoming silvery gray after death.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Eupleurogrammus muticus
Family: Trichiuridae (Cutlassfishes)
Order: Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 70.0
Common length: 50.0
Depth range: 80 m (262 ft)
Environment: Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; depth range ? - 80 m
Climate: Tropical
Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: including the Persian Gulf, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Gulf of Thailand, China and southern Korean Peninsula.
Conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: commercial
Resilience: High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

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

Last updated 27 September 2026