Pearly Hairtail, Trichiurus auriga Klunzinger 1884
Illustration of the Pearly Hairtail, Trichiurus auriga. Source: FAO / FishBase. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
Summary:
A small pearly-white hairtail with a slightly dusky back and dusky margins on the dorsal and anal fins. The species is known from deep waters off northern Australia.
Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Trichiurus auriga in Fishes of Australia, accessed 24 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2561
Pearly Hairtail, Trichiurus auriga Klunzinger 1884
More Info
Distribution |
Timor Sea, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Elsewhere, the species occurs on the tropical west Indian and west Pacific oceans. |
Features |
Dorsal fin III, 106-116; Anal fin 80. Body extremely elongate, compressed and tapering to a point. Mouth very large with a small dermal process at the tip of each jaw. Pelvic and caudal fins absent. Lateral line originating at the upper margin of the gill cover, running obliquely to behind the tip of the pectoral fins, then parallel to the ventral contour of the body. |
Colour |
Freshly caught specimens are pearly white with a slightly dusky back, and dusky margins on the dorsal and anal fins. |
Feeding |
Feeds on deep water shrimps and small mesopelagic fishes such as myctophids and gonostomatids. |
Fisheries |
May be taken as bycatch in deep water commercial trawls. |
Remarks |
The Pearly Hairtail has been confused with Trichiurus lepturus. |
Species Citation |
Trichiurus auriga Klunzinger 1884, Fische des Rothen Meeres Pt 1: 120, pl. 12(1). Type locality: Kosseir, Red Sea Coast of Egypt. |
Author |
Dianne J. Bray |
Resources |
Pearly Hairtail, Trichiurus auriga Klunzinger 1884
References
Klunzinger, C.B. 1884. Die Fische des Rothen Meeres. Stuttgart, Pt 1 133 pp 13 pls.
Nakamura, I. & Parin, N.V. 1993. FAO Species Catalogue. 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. Fisheries Synopsis No. 125, Vol. 15. Rome : FAO 136 pp. 200 figs.
Nakamura, I. & Parin, N.V. 2001. Gempylidae, Trichiuridae. pp. 3698-3720 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.