Portugal country information

Common names: Black scabbard fish, Espada preta, Espada preta
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: highly commercial | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments:
National Checklist: Portugal
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/po.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin, 1993
National Database: Portuguese Freshwater Fishes

Common names from other countries

Sabre noir, Sable negro, 黑等鳍叉尾带鱼, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Scombriformes (Mackerels) > Trichiuridae (Cutlassfishes) > Aphanopodinae
Etymology: Aphanopus: Greek, aphanes = hidden + Greek, pous = foot (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Lowe.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 108735); depth range 200 - 2300 m (Ref. 108733), usually 700 - 1300 m (Ref. 108735). Deep-water; 71°N - 23°S, 82°W - 17°E (Ref. 6181)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North Atlantic: on both sides and at underwater rises from Denmark Strait to Cape Verde.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 111.6 range ? - 117.5 cm
Max length : 151 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 108708); common length : 70.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3698); max. published weight: 0.00 g

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 34 - 41; Dorsal soft rays (total): 52 - 56; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 43 - 48; Vertebrae: 97 - 100. Body is extremely elongated, with body depth 10.8 to 13.4 times in SL. The snout is large with strong fang-like teeth. Pelvic fins represented by a single spine in juveniles but entirely absent in adults. Color is coppery black with iridescent tint. The inside of the mouth and gill cavities black.

Juveniles mesopelagic (Ref. 6181). Bathypelagic (Ref. 58426). Migrate to midwater at night and feed on crustaceans, cephalopods and fishes (mostly macrourids, morids and alepocephalids). Mature at 80 to 85 cm. Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6768). Data from study reveal mature individuals undertake horizontal migration to spawning and nursery grounds located off the Madeira and Canary islands (Ref. 108708). Commercial catch up to 1000 t was caught off Madeira with a specialized commercial deep water longline (Ref. 6255). Appear as bycatch in the trawl fishery west of the British Isles, along the Middle-Atlantic Ridge and at Corner Rise. Important and fabled food fish in Madeira (Ref. 4537). Some specimens reach 145 cm (Nuno Marques, Nomad@netmadeira.com, 12/09).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Displays determinate fecundity (Ref. 108695). Mature individuals undertake horizontal migration to spawning and nursery grounds (Ref. 108708). Suspended pre-spawning stages occurred in some areas of the Northeast Atlantic caused by atresia in ovaries (Ref. 108708).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Parin, Nikolay V. | Collaborators

Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin, 1993. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 15. 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. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(15):136 p. (Ref. 6181)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 12 October 2018

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial

FAO(Fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
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Ecology
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Life cycle
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Distribution
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Anatomy
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Physiology
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Swimming type
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Visual pigment(s)
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Genetics
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Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 1.1 - 12.6, mean 7.1 (based on 244 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5078 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00046 (0.00033 - 0.00063), b=3.15 (3.06 - 3.24), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.5 ±0.77 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.11-0.25, tmax=14).

Prior r = 0.20, 95% CL = 0.13 - 0.30, Based on 3 full stock assessments.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): High vulnerability (64 of 100).

Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649): Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Low.

Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839