Silver scabbardfish

Taxobox
name = Silver scabbardfish

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regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
class = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Trichiuridae
genus = "Lepidopus"
species = "L. caudatus"
binomial = "Lepidopus caudatus"
binomial_authority = (Euphrasen, 1788)

The silver scabbardfish (also frostfish, beltfish), "Lepidopus caudatus", is a cutlassfish of the family Trichiuridae found throughout the temperate seas of the world. It grows to over 2 m in length.

The silver scabbardfish is a slender, ribbon-like fish with a long tapering body and a tiny forked caudal fin. The long dorsal fin is made up entirely of soft rays, the anal fin is very short and set back near the tail, and the pelvic fins are rudimentary. The large mouth has a single row of sharp teeth in each jaw and three long canines in the front of the upper jaw.

Silver scabbardfish have a scaleless body and a uniform bright silver colour. They spend the cold winter months in deep offshore water and come to the surface on clear still nights when the moon is full - giving rise to its second common name.

They are active carnivores, feeding on squid and small fish.

References

*
* Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, "Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand", (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8