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: httpss://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

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Trichiuridae (Cutlassfishes) > Aphanopodinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

黑等鳍叉尾带鱼, Рыба-сабля угольная, Sabre noir, ... more

Main reference

Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin. 1993. (Ref. 6181)
References | Biblio | Coordinator : Parin, Nikolay V. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

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

Length at first maturity
L_m 111.6 range ? - 117.5 cm

Environment

Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 108735); depth range 200 - 2300 m (Ref. 108733), usually 700 - 1300 m (Ref. 108735)

Climate / Range

Deep-water, preferred 10°C (Ref. 107945); 71°N - 23°S, 82°W - 17°E (Ref. 6181)

Distribution

North Atlantic: on both sides and at underwater rises from Denmark Strait to Cape Verde.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

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).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 0.5078 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.5 ±0.77 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.11-0.25, tmax=14)

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

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low

Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839