Description: Body very elongate and compressed. Head profile oblique concave, rising gently from the tip of the snout to the eye, then more steeply to the origin of the dorsal fin. Lower jaw extends anterior to the upper jaw. Dorsal fin long, not divided. Pelvic fins reduced to a single spine in adults; a spine and two rays in juveniles. Small forked caudal fin. Uniformly silvery; dorsal fin dark grey.
Global Distribution: Eastern Atlantic from France to Senegal, including Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and offshore seamounts; Namibia to South Africa. Southern Indian Ocean: seamounts 30 to 35°S. Southwest Pacific: Australia and New Zealand. Southeast Pacific: Peru. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 210 cm (total length); common length 117 cm (standard length); maximum published weight 8.0 kg.
Growth type: Positive allometric (Torres et al. 2012).
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction: Eggs and larvae are pelagic.
Maturity: range 92 - ? cm.
Behavioural ecology: Migrates into midwater at night. Forms schools.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 42 - 620 m, usually 100 - 300 m.
Habitat: Benthopelagic. Occurs on continental shelf, along its edge and upper slope down to 400 m or more, usually over sandy and muddy bottoms from 100 to 250 m. Occasionally found inshore in upwelling of deep water when it appears at surface.
Feeding habits: Feeds on crustaceans, small squid and fish.
Trophic level: FishBase: 3.9
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Highly valued commercial species, but much less common in Madeira than the black scabbardfish, Aphanopus carbo.
Conservation status: Global: Not evaluated.
Europe: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety:
Proximate composition per 100 g:
energy value 123 kcal (6.2% DRV)
protein 20.3 g (40.6% DRV)
fat 2.9 g (4.1% DRV)
of which saturates 0.739 g (3.7% DRV)
sodium 0.077 g (3.2% DRV)
REFERENCES
Borges T.C., Olim S., Erzini K. (2003). Weight–length relationships for fish species discarded in commercial fisheries of the Algarve (southern Portugal). Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 19(6): 394-396.
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
Nunes M.L., Bandarra N., Oliveira L., Batista I., Calhau M.A. (2006). Composition and nutritional value of fishery products consumed in Portugal. In: Seafood Research from Fish to Dish: Quality, safety and processing of wild and farmed fish, eds.: J.B. Luten, C. Jacobsen, K. Bekaert, A. Saebo, J. Oehlenschläger. Wageningen Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, 568 pp.
Nakamura I., Parin N.V. (1993). FAO species catalogue Vol. 15. Snake mackerels and cutlassfishes of the world (Families Gempylidae and Trichiuridae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the snake mackerels, snoeks, escolars, gemfishes, sackfishes, domine, oilfish, cutlassfishes, scabbardfishes, hairtails, and frostfishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopis No. 125, Vol. 15, 136 pp.
Nieto A., Ralph G.M., Comeros-Raynal M.T., Kemp J., GarcÃa Criado M., Allen D.J., Dulvy N.K., Walls R.H.L., Russell B., Pollard D., GarcÃa S., Craig M., Collette B.B., Pollom R., Biscoito M., Labbish Chao N., Abella A., Afonso P., Ãlvarez H., Carpenter K.E., Clò S., Cook R., Costa M.J., Delgado J., Dureuil M., Ellis J.R., Farrell E.D., Fernandes P., Florin A-B., Fordham S., Fowle, S., Gil de Sola L., Gil Herrera J., Goodpaster A., Harvey M., Heessen H., Herler J., Jung A., Karmovskaya E., Keskin C., Knudsen S.W., Kobyliansky S., KovaÄić M., Lawson J.M., Lorance P., McCully Phillips S., Munroe T., Nedreaas K., Nielsen J., Papaconstantinou C., Polidoro B., Pollock C.M., Rijnsdorp A.D., Sayer C., Scott J., Serena F., Smith-Vaniz W.F., Soldo A., Stump E., Williams J.T. (2015). Europen Red List of Marine Fishes. IUCN and European Union, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 90 pp.
Rosa A., Menezes G., Melo O., Pinho M.R. (2006). Weight–length relationships of 33 demersal fish species from Azores archipelago. Fisheries Research, 80(2): 329-332.
Torres M.A., Ramos F., Sobrino I. (2012). Length–weight relationships of 76 fish species from the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain). Fisheries Research, 127: 171-175.
