Species of fish
The
largehead hairtail
(
Trichiurus lepturus
) or
beltfish
is a member of the
cutlassfish
family, Trichiuridae. This common to abundant species is found in tropical and temperate oceans throughout the world.
[1]
[2]
The
taxonomy
is not fully resolved, and the Atlantic, East Pacific and Northwest Pacific populations are also known as
Atlantic cutlassfish
,
Pacific cutlassfish
and
Japanese cutlassfish
, respectively. This predatory, elongated fish
supports major fisheries
.
[3]
Appearance
[
edit
]
Largehead hairtails are silvery steel blue in color, turning silvery gray after death.
[3]
The fins are generally semi-transparent and may have a yellowish tinge.
[3]
Largehead hairtails are elongated in shape with a thin pointed tail (they lack a fish tail in the usual form). The eyes are large, and the large mouth contains long pointed fang-like teeth.
[3]
Largehead hairtails grow to 6 kg (13 lb) in weight,
[4]
and 2.34 m (7 ft 8 in) in length.
[2]
Most are only 0.5?1 m (1 ft 8 in ? 3 ft 3 in) long,
[3]
although they regularly reach 1.5?1.8 m (4 ft 11 in ? 5 ft 11 in) in Australia.
[4]
Range and habitat
[
edit
]
Largehead hairtails are found worldwide in tropical and temperate oceans.
[2]
In the East Atlantic they range from southern United Kingdom to South Africa, including the
Mediterranean Sea
.
[1]
[5]
In the West Atlantic it ranges from
Virginia
(occasionally
Cape Cod
) to northern Argentina, including the
Caribbean Sea
and
Gulf of Mexico
.
[1]
[6]
In the East Pacific they range from southern
California
to Peru.
[1]
Widespread in the
Indo-Pacific
region, ranging from the
Red Sea
to South Africa, Japan, the entire coast of Australia (except
Tasmania
and
Victoria
) and
Fiji
, they are absent from the central Pacific Ocean, including
Hawaii
.
[1]
[3]
[7]
Some populations are
migratory
.
[3]
A study of largehead hairtails in southern Japan's
Bungo Channel
indicated that the optimum water temperature is 20?24 °C (68?75 °F).
[8]
Based on fishing catches in the
Jeju Strait
of South Korea, the species resides mainly in water warmer than 14 °C (57 °F), while catches are poor in colder water.
[9]
Off southern Brazil it mainly occurs in waters warmer than 16 °C (61 °F).
[10]
It is absent from waters below 10 °C (50 °F).
[1]
The largehead hairtail prefers relatively shallow coastal regions over muddy bottoms,
[1]
but it sometimes enters
estuaries
and has been recorded at depths of 0 to 589 m (0?1,932 ft).
[2]
In European waters, most records are from 100 to 350 m (330?1,150 ft),
[5]
Off southern Brazil hairtails are most abundant between 40 and 120 m (130?390 ft),
[10]
they have been recorded between 55 and 385 m (180?1,263 ft) in the East Pacific,
[3]
and in southern Japan's Bungo Channel they are primarily known from 60 to 280 m (200?920 ft) but most common between 70 and 160 m (230?520 ft).
[8]
They are mainly
benthopelagic
, but may appear at the surface during the night.
[1]
Taxonomy
[
edit
]
Although often considered a single highly widespread species,
[2]
it has been argued that it is a
species complex
that includes several species with the main groups being in the Atlantic (Atlantic cutlassfish), East Pacific (Pacific cutlassfish), Northwest Pacific (Japanese cutlassfish) and Indo-Pacific. If
split
, the Atlantic would retain the scientific name
T. lepturus
, as the
type locality
is off
South Carolina
. The Northwest Pacific (
Sea of Japan
and
East China Sea
) differs in
morphometrics
,
meristics
and
genetics
, and is sometimes recognized as
T. japonicus
.
[11]
[12]
Morphometric and meristic differences have also been shown in the population of the East Pacific (California to Peru), leading some to recognize it as
T. nitens
.
[13]
Neither
T. japonicus
nor
T. nitens
are recognized as separate species by
FishBase
where considered
synonyms
of
T. lepturus
,
[2]
but they are recognized as separate species by the
Catalog of Fishes
.
[14]
The
IUCN
recognizes the East Atlantic population as a distinct, currently
undescribed species
.
[1]
This is based on genetic evidence showing a
divergence
between West and East Atlantic populations.
[1]
However, this would require that
T. japonicus
,
T. nitens
and the Indo-Pacific populations also are recognized as separate species, effectively limiting
T. lepturus
to the West Atlantic (contrary to IUCN
[1]
), as they all show a greater divergence.
[15]
Additional studies are required on the possible separation and
nomenclature
of the Indo-Pacific populations. Based on studies of
mtDNA
, which however lacked any samples from the southern parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, there are three species in the Indo-Pacific:
T. japonicus
(marginal in the region, see range above),
T. lepturus
(West Pacific and Eastern Indian Ocean; the species also found in the Atlantic) and the final preliminarily referred to as
Trichiurus
sp. 2 (Indian Ocean, and East and
South China Seas
).
[15]
[16]
It is likely that
Trichiurus
sp. 2 equals
T. nanhaiensis
.
[17]
The names
T. coxii
and
T. haumela
have been used for the populations off Australia and in the Indo-Pacific, respectively, but firm evidence supporting their validity as species is lacking.
[12]
[15]
Behavior and life cycle
[
edit
]
Juveniles participate in the
diel vertical migration
, rising to feed on
krill
and small fish during the night and returning to the sea bed in the day. This movement pattern is reversed by large adults, which mainly feed on fish.
[2]
[3]
Other known prey items include
squid
and shrimp, and the highly carnivorous adults regularly
cannibalise
younger individuals.
[18]
Largehead hairtails are often found in large, dense
schools
.
[7]
[19]
Spawning depends on temperature as the
larvae
prefer water warmer than 21 °C (70 °F) and are entirely absent at less than 16 °C (61 °F). Consequently, spawning is year-round in tropical regions, but generally in the spring and summer in colder regions.
[20]
Through a spawning season each female lays many thousand pelagic eggs that hatch after three to six days.
[3]
In the Sea of Japan most individuals reach maturity when two years old, but some already after one year.
[3]
The oldest recorded age is 15 years.
[2]
Fisheries and usage
[
edit
]
Largehead hairtail is a major commercial species. With reported landings of more than 1.3 million tonnes in 2009, it was the sixth
most important captured fish species
.
[21]
The species is caught throughout much of its range, typically by
bottom trawls
or
beach seines
, but also using a wide range of other methods.
[1]
In 2009, by far the largest catches (1.2 million tonnes) were reported by China and Taiwan from the Northwest Pacific (
FAO
Fishing Area 61). The next largest catches were reported from South Korea, Japan, and Pakistan.
[21]
Some of the numerous other countries where regularly caught include Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, Mauritania, Morocco, Brazil, Trinidad, Colombia, Mexico, southeastern United States, Iran,
[1]
India,
[19]
and Australia.
[4]
In Korea, the largehead hairtail is called
galchi
(
갈치
), in which
gal
(
갈
) came from
Middle Korean
galh
(
갏
) meaning "sword" and
-chi
(
치
) is a suffix for "fish".
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
It is popular for frying or grilling. In Japan, where it is known as
tachiuo
("
太刀
(tachi)": sword, "
魚
(uo)":fish), they are fished for food and eaten grilled or raw, as
sashimi
. They are also called "sword-fish" in Portugal and Brazil (
peixe-espada
), where they are eaten grilled or fried. Its flesh is firm yet tender when cooked, with a moderate level of "fishiness" to the smell and a low level of oiliness. The largehead hairtail is also notable for being fairly easy to debone.
[
citation needed
]
-
Largehead hairtails at a fish market in
Tokyo
-
Galchi-
gui
(grilled largehead hairtail)
-
Galchi-
hoe
(raw largehead hairtail)
-
Galchi-
jorim
(simmered largehead hairtail)
-
Kripik
Beledang
(battered and deep-fried hairtail) from
Bengkulu
, Indonesia
References
[
edit
]
- ^
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k
l
m
n
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"
Trichiurus lepturus
"
.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
.
2015
: e.T190090A115307118.
doi
:
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T190090A19929379.en
.
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d
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Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2015).
"
Trichiurus lepturus
"
in
FishBase
. February 2015 version.
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. FAO
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Prokop, F.B. (2006).
Australian Fish Guide
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ISBN
978-1865131078
.
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Sea Fish
. p. 234.
ISBN
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.
- ^
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. p. 378.
ISBN
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.
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ISBN
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.
- ^
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Trichiurus japonicus
and
T. lepturus
(Perciformes: Trichiuridae) based on mitochondrial DNA analysis"
(PDF)
.
Zoological Studies
.
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(3): 419?427.
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Tzeng, C.H.; Chen, C.S.; Chiu, T.S. (2007). "Analysis of morphometry and mitochondrial DNA sequences from two
Trichiurus
species in waters of the western North Pacific: taxonomic assessment and population structure".
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.
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.
- ^
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"Redescription of the trichiurid fish,
Trichiurus nitens
Garman, 1899, being a valid of species distinct from
T. lepturus
Linnaeus, 1758 (Perciformes: Trichiuridae)"
.
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.
48
(10): 825.
doi
:
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.
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
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(PDF)
.
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.
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- ^
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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- ^
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(PDF)
.
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.
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.
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(PDF)
. Rome:
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. pp. 27, 202?203. Archived from
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- ^
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갈치
.
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(in Korean).
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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Yeogeo yuhae
譯語類解(譯語類解)
[
Categorical Analysis of the Chinese Language Translation
] (in Korean). Joseon Kora:
Sayeogwon
.
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"galh"
갏
.
Standard Korean Language Dictionary
(in Korean).
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
洪, 尹票 (1 September 2006).
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.
National Institute of Korean Language
(in Korean)
. Retrieved
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2017
.
External links
[
edit
]