Black scabbardfish

Taxobox
name = Black scabbardfish

---

regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
class = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Trichiuridae
genus = "Aphanopus"
species = "A. carbo"
binomial = "Aphanopus carbo"
binomial_authority = Lowe, 1839

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 of between 180 and 1,700 m.ref|fisheriesresearch1 Its length is up to 110 cm, but reaches maturity around 80 to 85 cm.

The black scabbardfish is a fish with a body that 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 are black. Juveniles are believed to be mesopelagic from 100 to 500 m.

Economic value

The black scabbardfish is of economic important to fisheries associated with countries of the Iberian Peninsula, and especially with the Madeira Islands where they are prized for food. ref|fisheriesresearch2

Conservation

The Marine Conservation Society has rated the scabbardfish as a species vulnerable to overfishing. According to MCS, there is little information to indicate the fishery to be sustainable.ref|fishonline

References

# Moralez-Nin, Beatriz. Sena-Carvalho, Dalila. 1996. Age and growth of the black scabbard fish (Aphanopus carbo) off Madeira. Fisheries Research. Vol. 25:239-251.
# Moralez-Nin, Beatriz. Sena-Carvalho, Dalila. 1996. Age and growth of the black scabbard fish (Aphanopus carbo) off Madeira. Fisheries Research. Vol. 25:239-251.
# " [http://www.fishonline.org/advice/avoid/?item=7 Fish to Avoid] "