Family TRICHIURIDAE

Trichiuridae

© Copyright Ros Poole.

Trichiurus lepturus

© Copyright McCulloch 1922

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Introduction

Cutlassfishes and hairtails (Trichiuridae) occur worldwide in tropical and temperate regions, with 10 genera and approximately 39 recognised species (Nelson 2006). From Australian waters, 15 species in seven genera have been recorded.

Trichiurids mainly occur in mesopelagic oceanic areas (juveniles only for some), but are also known to be benthopelagic on the continental slope. The hairtails of the genus Trichiurus are known to occasionally enter estuaries. The larger species are common in commercial catches and are an important component of the commercial fisheries off eastern Australia and New Zealand. Maximum size reached is 2 m.

Species were reviewed by Nakamura & Parin (1993), following which Parin (1994) added three new species of Aphanopus. A number of species occur in New Guinea, the Coral Sea and Indonesia and it is likely that additional species will be recorded from Australia. Many species known from Australia are treated in Nakamura & Parin (2001). Molecular studies are also finding additional species in some areas (Hsu et al. 2009).

General References

Bray, D.J., Hoese, D.F. & Paxton, J.R. 2006. Trichiuridae. pp. 1761-1766 in Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & Allen, G.R. Fishes. In, Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 35. Volume 35 Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp. [1761]

Hsu, K.-C., Shih, N.-T., Ni, I.-H. & Shao, K.-T. 2009. Speciation and population structure of three Trichiurus species based on mitochondrial DNA. Zoological Studies 48(6): 835-849

McCulloch, A.R. 1922. Checklist of the fish and fish-like animals of New South Wales. Part 3. The Australian Zoologist 2(3): 86-130 pls 25-43 [pl. 35]

Nakamura, I. & Parin, N.V. 1993. FAO Species Catalogue. 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. Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Vol. 15. Rome : FAO 136 pp. 200 figs.

Nakamura, I. & Parin, N.V. 2001. Gempylidae, Trichiuridae. pp. 3698-3720 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

Nelson, J.S. 2006. Fishes of the World. Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 601 pp.

Parin, N.V. 1994. Three new species and new records of the black scabbard fishes genus Aphanopus (Trichiuridae). Voprosy Ikhtiologii 34(6): 740-746 1 fig. [in Russian, English transl. in J. Ichthyol.]

Common Name References

Nakamura, I. & Parin, N.V. 2001. Gempylidae, Trichiuridae. pp. 3698-3720 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218. [3709] (Cutlassfishes)

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