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SpeciesPerciformesTrichiuridae
Fish

🐟Largehead hairtail

Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, 1758

The largehead hairtail 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, and the Atlantic, East Pacific and Northwest Pacific populations are also known as Atlantic cutlassfish, Pacific cutlassfish, respectively. This predatory, elongated fish supports major fisheries.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Measurements
7
vs you
≈ 1/23rd of your weight
Also called
Silverfish, Atlantic Cutlassfish, Australian Hairtail, Common Hairtail, Cutlass Fish, Cutlassfish, Grey Ribbon Fish, Hair Tail, Hairtail, Large Headed Hairtail, Large-head Ribbonfish, Largeheaded Ribbonfish, Pacific Cutlassfish, Ribbon Fish
Conservation status
LCLeast concern

IUCN Red List assessment, 2015.

Population trendStable
Key measurements
Body mass
2.75 kg
Body length
1 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
15 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Largehead hairtail

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
2.75 kgrecord 5 kg · FishBase
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Body length
1 mrecord 2.34 m · FishBasetypical adult
FishBase
Details ↓

Record: largest individual on record

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Maximum lifespan
15 years
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Trophic level
4.42
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0

Diet
carnivoreaverage
Details ↓

From trophic level 4.42 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.

Danger to humans
harmless
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Volume l
2.8 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Largehead hairtail yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›orderPerciformes
  4. ›familyTrichiuridae
  5. ›genusTrichiurus
  6. ›speciesTrichiurus lepturus
Full lineage
  1. superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
  2. subclassNeopterygii
  3. orderAcanthomorphata
  4. familyTrichiuridae
All 10 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
  7. classActinopteri
  8. subclassNeopterygii
  9. orderAcanthomorphata
  10. familyTrichiuridae
More

More about the Largehead hairtail

In other languages
Trichiurus lepturus (es), Trichiurus lepturus (fr), sabre cuafí (ca), Trichiurus lepturus (it), タチウオ (ja), 갈치 (ko) … and 20 more languages
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