Description: Body long and slender. Dorsal fin long and high, sail-like. Pectoral fins set very low on the body; longer than pelvic fins, which are located about midbody. Without scales. Caudal peduncle with lateral adipose keel. Snout long. Colour generally pale, iridescent; fins dark brown or black.
Global Distribution: Circumglobal, including the western Mediterranean. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum length 215 cm.
Age:
Weight length rel.:
Growth type:
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction: Synchronous hermaphrodites. Oviparous with planktonic larvae.
Maturity:
Behavioural ecology: Mostly nocturnal.
Population structure & migrations:
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: FishBase: 0 - 1830 m
Habitat: From epipelagic to bathypelagic. They may sometimes approach inshore waters.
Feeding habits: Feeds on fishes, cephalopods, tunicates, and crustaceans.
Trophic level: FishBase: 4.1
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Low commercial interest, due to its soft flesh. Occasional by-catch in longline fisheries.
Conservation status: Global: Least concern.
Europe: Least concern.
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.
Carpenter K.E., ed. (2002). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. FAO, Rome, pp. 601-1374.
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.
