Description: Spiracles very large, as long as eyes; teeth minute and very numerous. First dorsal fin extremely long, at least as long as caudal fin, low and broadly rounded above.
Global Distribution: Western Atlantic: USA, Cuba, Brazil. Northeast Atlantic: Atlantic slope off Iceland, to Senegal, including Madeira, Azores, and Cape Verde. Indian Ocean: Aldabra Island group and Western Australia. Pacific Ocean: Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Hawaii. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Size at birth 90 cm (range 70 and 140 cm); maximum length: male 269 cm (total length); female 295.0 cm (TL).
Reproduction: Ovoviviparous, embryos feeding on yolk sac and other ova produced by the mother, uterine milk is consumed additionally. Pups number 2 to 4 in a litter; size at birth between 70 and 140 cm (TL).
Maturity: range 210 - 295 cm.
Behavioural ecology: Inactive and sluggish.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 173 - 1890 m.
Habitat: Bathydemersal on the upper and middle slope.
Feeding habits: Probably eats bony fishes, elasmobranchs and invertebrates.
Trophic level: FishBase: 4.3
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Not commercial. Sometimes caught as bycatch of the black scabbardfish longline fishery.
Conservation status: Global: Data deficient.
Europe: Data deficient.
Nutritional information & food safety:
REFERENCES
Brito A., Pascual P.J., Falcón J.M., Sancho A., González G. (2002). Peces de las islas Canarias. Catálogo comentado e ilustrado. Francisco Lemos Editor, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 418 pp.
Hureau J.-C., ed. (1984-1985). Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO. Accessed through: Marine Species Identification Portal. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://species-identification.org (2014).
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
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.
