The cutlassfishes are about 45

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of predatory

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

in the family Trichiuridae of the order

Scombriformes Scombriformes, also known as Pelagia and Pelagiaria, is an order of ray-finned fish within the clade Percomorpha. It contains 287 extant species in 16 families, most of which were previously classified under the suborders Scombroidei and Stroma ...

found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this family are long, slender, and generally steely blue or silver in colour, giving rise to their name. They have reduced or absent

pelvic The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an anatomical trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis or pelvic skeleton). ...

and

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

s, giving them an

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

-like appearance, and large fang-like teeth. Some of the species are known as scabbardfishes or hairtails; others are called frostfishes because they appear in late autumn and early winter, around the time of the first frosts. The earliest known remains of cutlassfish are isolated teeth assigned to ''

Eutrichiurides ''Eutrichiurides'' ("true '' Trichiurus'' resemblance") is an extinct genus of cutlassfish known from the early Paleocene to the early Oligocene. Taxonomy Species within this genus include: * †''E. africanus'' Dartevelle & Casier, 1949 - mid ...

'' from the

Early Paleocene The Danian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Paleocene Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series, of the Paleogene Period or system (stratigraphy), System, and of the Cenozoic Era or Erathem. The beginnin ...

of Morocco, the United States, and Angola, although their affinities are subject to question. The earliest known body fossil of a cutlassfish is a specimen tentatively assigned to ''

Anenchelum ''Anenchelum'' (Greek for "not an eel") is an Extinction, extinct genus of cutlassfish known from the Ypresian, early Eocene to the late Miocene. Several species are known that inhabited the northwestern Tethys Ocean, Tethys and later Paratethys ...

'' from the

Early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

of Italy.

Classification

This list of species follows

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

: * Subfamily Aphanopidinae

Gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

, 1863 ** †Genus ''

'' (Early Eocene to Late Miocene) ** Genus ''

Aphanopus ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfishes, is a genus of Cutlassfish which contains the following species: * '' Aphanopus arigato'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus beckeri'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus capricornis ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfishe ...

'' *** ''

Aphanopus arigato ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfishes, is a genus of Cutlassfish which contains the following species: * '' Aphanopus arigato'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus beckeri'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus capricornis ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfishe ...

'' Parin, 1994 *** ''

Aphanopus beckeri ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfishes, is a genus of Cutlassfish which contains the following species: * '' Aphanopus arigato'' Parin, 1994 * '' Aphanopus beckeri'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus capricornis ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfish ...

'' Parin, 1994 *** ''

Aphanopus capricornis ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfishes, is a genus of Cutlassfish The cutlassfishes are about 45 species of predatory ray-finned fish in the family Trichiuridae of the order Scombriformes found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this fam ...

'' Parin, 1994 *** ''

Aphanopus carbo The black scabbardfish (''Aphanopus carbo'') is a bathypelagic cutlassfish of the family Trichiuridae found in the Atlantic Ocean between latitudes 69°N and 27°N at depths between . Its length is up to , but it reaches maturity around . De ...

'' Lowe, 1839 (Black scabbardfish) *** ''

Aphanopus intermedius ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfishes, is a genus of Cutlassfish which contains the following species: * ''Aphanopus arigato'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus beckeri'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus capricornis'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus carbo'' Lowe, ...

'' Parin, 1983 (Intermediate scabbardfish) *** ''

Aphanopus microphthalmus ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfishes, is a genus of Cutlassfish The cutlassfishes are about 45 species of predatory ray-finned fish in the family Trichiuridae of the order Scombriformes found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this fam ...

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

, 1939 (Smalleye scabbardfish) *** ''

Aphanopus mikhailini ''Aphanopus'', the black scabbardfishes, is a genus of Cutlassfish which contains the following species: * ''Aphanopus arigato'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus beckeri'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus capricornis'' Parin, 1994 * ''Aphanopus carbo'' Lowe, ...

'' Parin, 1983 (Mikhailin's scabbardfish) ** Genus '' Benthodesmus'' Goode &

Bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

, 1882 *** ''

Benthodesmus elongatus ''Benthodesmus'' is a genus of fish in the family Trichiuridae. There are at least eleven species in this genus, which are known as frostfish. These are not to be confused with ''Microgadus tomcod'' and ''Lepidopus caudatus'' also known as frost ...

'',

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a common surname ...

, 1879 (Elongate frostfish) *** '' Benthodesmus macrophthalmus'', Parin & Becker, 1970 (Bigeye frostfish) *** '' Benthodesmus neglectus'', Parin, 1976 (Neglected frostfish) *** ''

Benthodesmus oligoradiatus ''Benthodesmus'' is a genus of fish in the family Trichiuridae. There are at least eleven species in this genus, which are known as frostfish. These are not to be confused with ''Microgadus tomcod'' and ''Lepidopus caudatus'' also known as fros ...

'', Parin & Becker, 1970 (Sparse-rayed frostfish) *** ''

Benthodesmus pacificus The North Pacific frostfish, ''Benthodesmus pacificus'', is a cutlassfish of the family Trichiuridae found in the north Pacific Ocean between latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that speci ...

'', Parin & Becker, 1970 (North Pacific frostfish) *** ''

Benthodesmus papua ''Benthodesmus'' is a genus of fish in the family Trichiuridae. There are at least eleven species in this genus, which are known as frostfish. These are not to be confused with ''Microgadus tomcod'' and ''Lepidopus caudatus'' also known as fros ...

'', Parin, 1978 (Papuan frostfish) *** ''

Benthodesmus simonyi ''Benthodesmus'' is a genus of fish in the family Trichiuridae. There are at least eleven species in this genus, which are known as frostfish. These are not to be confused with ''Microgadus tomcod'' and ''Lepidopus caudatus'' also known as fros ...

'',

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1891 (Simony's frostfish) *** ''

Benthodesmus suluensis ''Benthodesmus'' is a genus of fish in the family Trichiuridae. There are at least eleven species in this genus, which are known as frostfish. These are not to be confused with ''Microgadus tomcod'' and ''Lepidopus caudatus'' also known as fros ...

'', Parin, 1976 (Philippine frostfish) *** ''

Benthodesmus tenuis ''Benthodesmus tenuis'', the slender frostfish or ribbon scabbardfish, is a species of cutlassfish The cutlassfishes are about 45 species of predatory ray-finned fish in the family Trichiuridae of the order Scombriformes found in seas throu ...

'', Günther, 1877 (Slender frostfish) *** ''

Benthodesmus tuckeri ''Benthodesmus'' is a genus of fish in the family Trichiuridae. There are at least eleven species in this genus, which are known as frostfish. These are not to be confused with ''Microgadus tomcod'' and ''Lepidopus caudatus'' also known as fros ...

'', Parin & Becker, 1970 (Tucker's frostfish) *** ''

Benthodesmus vityazi ''Benthodesmus'' is a genus of fish in the family Trichiuridae. There are at least eleven species in this genus, which are known as frostfish. These are not to be confused with ''Microgadus tomcod'' and ''Lepidopus caudatus'' also known as fros ...

'', Parin & Becker, 1970 (Vityaz' frostfish) * Subfamily Lepidopodinae, Gill, 1863 ** Genus ''

Assurger The razorback scabbardfish, ''Assurger anzac'', is a rare species of cutlassfish, family Trichiuridae, and the only member of its genus. It has been caught from scattered locations worldwide: in the Atlantic Ocean it is known from off Puerto Ri ...

'' *** '' Assurger anzac''

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

, 1917 (Razorback scabbardfish) ** Genus ''

Eupleurogrammus ''Eupleurogrammus'' is a genus of cutlassfish from the Indo-Pacific region. They are benthopelagic fishes which occur mainly over the continental shelf where they move upwards in the water column towards the surface at night and feed on small fi ...

'' *** '' Eupleurogrammus glossodon'', ( Bleeker, 1860) (Longtooth hairtail) *** '' Eupleurogrammus muticus'', (

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, 1831) (Smallhead hairtail) ** Genus '' Evoxymetopon'' *** '' Evoxymetopon macrophthalmus'' Chakraborty, Yoshino & Iwatsuki, 2006 *** '' Evoxymetopon moricheni'' Fricke, Golani & Appelbaum-Golani, 2014 *** '' Evoxymetopon poeyi'' Günther, 1887 (Poey's scabbardfish) *** ''

Evoxymetopon taeniatus ''Evoxymetopon taeniatus'', commonly known as channel scabbardfish, tyranfish,and tyrant fish, is a silvery, elongated species of cutlass fish The cutlassfishes are about 45 species of predatory ray-finned fish in the family Trichiuridae of t ...

, 1863 (Channel scabbardfish) ** Genus ''

Lepidopus ''Lepidopus'' is a genus of cutlassfishes. Fossil record These fishes lived from the Oligocene to Quaternary (from 33.9 to 1.806 million years ago). Fossils have been found in Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Germany and H ...

'' *** ''

Lepidopus altifrons ''Lepidopus'' is a genus of cutlassfishes. Fossil record These fishes lived from the Oligocene to Quaternary (from 33.9 to 1.806 million years ago). Fossils have been found in Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Germany and H ...

'', Parin & Collette, 1993 (Crested scabbardfish) *** ''

Lepidopus calcar ''Lepidopus'' is a genus of cutlassfishes. Fossil record These fishes lived from the Oligocene to Quaternary (from 33.9 to 1.806 million years ago). Fossils have been found in Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Germany and ...

'', Parin & Mikhailin, 1982 (Hawaiian ridge scabbardfish) *** ''

Lepidopus caudatus The silver scabbardfish (''Lepidopus caudatus''), also known as the frostfish or beltfish is a benthopelagic cutlassfish of the family Trichiuridae found throughout the temperate seas of the world. It grows to over in length. Behaviour ''Le ...

'', ( Euphrasen, 1788) (Silver scabbardfish) *** '' Lepidopus dubius'', Parin & Mikhailin, 1981 (Doubtful scabbardfish) *** ''

Lepidopus fitchi ''Lepidopus'' is a genus of cutlassfishes. Fossil record These fishes lived from the Oligocene to Quaternary (from 33.9 to 1.806 million years ago). Fossils have been found in Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Germany and H ...

'', Rosenblatt & Wilson, 1987 (Fitch's scabbardfish) *** ''

Lepidopus manis ''Lepidopus'' is a genus of cutlassfishes. Fossil record These fishes lived from the Oligocene to Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the I ...

'', Rosenblatt & Wilson, 1987 (Ghost scabbardfish) **Genus †'' Musculopedunculus'' Parin & Astakhov, 2007 (

Early Oligocene The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two age (geology), ages or the lower of two stage (stratigraphy), stages of the Oligocene epoch (geology), Epoch/series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded b ...

of Germany) *Subfamily Trichiurinae Rafinesque, 1810 ** Genus '' Demissolinea'' *** '' Demissolinea novaeguineensis'', Burhanuddin & Iwatsuki, 2003 (New Guinean hairtail) **Genus †''

'' (Eocene to Oligocene) ** Genus ''

Lepturacanthus Lepturacanthus is a genus of cutlassfish from the Indo-Pacific region. They are benthopelagic species of waters over the continental shelf, it is a predator of a variety of small coastal fishes, squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc wit ...

'' *** '' Lepturacanthus pantului'', (Gupta, 1966) (Coromandel hairtail) *** '' Lepturacanthus roelandti'' ( Bleeker, 1860) *** '' Lepturacanthus savala'', (

Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

, 1829) (Savalani hairtail) ** Genus '' Tentoriceps'' *** '' Tentoriceps cristatus'', ( Klunzinger, 1884) (Crested hairtail) **Genus †'' Trichiurides'' (Eocene) ** Genus ''

Trichiurus ''Trichiurus'' is a genus of cutlassfishes belonging to the family Trichiuridae. Species Species within this genus include: * ''Trichiurus auriga'', Klunzinger, 1884 (Pearly hairtail) * ''Trichiurus australis'' Chakraborty, Burhanuddin & Yukio ...

'' *** '' Trichiurus auriga'', Klunzinger, 1884 (Pearly hairtail) *** '' Trichiurus australis'' Chakraborty, Burhanuddin & Iwatsuki, 2005 *** '' Trichiurus brevis'', Wang & You, 1992 (Chinese short-tailed hairtail) *** '' Trichiurus gangeticus'', Gupta, 1966 (Ganges hairtail) *** ''

Trichiurus lepturus 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. The taxonomy is not fully resolved, ...

'',

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

(Largehead hairtail) *** '' Trichiurus margarites'', Li, 1992 *** '' Trichiurus nanhaiensis'', Wang & Xu, 1992 *** '' Trichiurus nickolensis'', Burhanuddin & Iwatsuki, 2003 (Australian short-tailed hairtail) *** '' Trichiurus russelli'', Dutt & Thankam, 1966 (Short-tailed hairtail)

Timeline of genera

ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px Period = from:-65.5 till:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify Colors = #legends id:CAR value:claret id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196) id:HER value:teal id:HAD value:green id:OMN value:blue id:black value:black id:white value:white id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5) id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68) id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:NAM2 bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:periodtop from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

Pleist. The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:eratop from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:paleocene bar:NAM1 from: -65.5 till: -28.4 text:

color:eocene bar:NAM2 from: -48.6 till: 0 text:

PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:

from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:

from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:

from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:

from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:era from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.

References

External links

Listing of Trichiuridae in English and Japanese 2003-10-27
Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Long stubs with short prose {{Scombroidei-stub