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Lepidopus fitchi Rosenblatt & Wilson, 1987

Pacific scabbardfish
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Lepidopus fitchi   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Lepidopus fitchi (Pacific scabbardfish)
Lepidopus fitchi
Picture by Briones-Mendoza, J.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Scombriformes (Mackerels) > Trichiuridae (Cutlassfishes) > Lepidopodinae
Etymology: Lepidopus: Greek, lepis = scale + Greek, pous = foot (Ref. 45335);  fitchi: Named in honor of the late John Fitch, indefatigable student of California fishes (Ref. 12696).
More on authors: Rosenblatt & Wilson.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 100 - 500 m (Ref. 6181), usually 100 - 250 m (Ref. 9351). Deep-water; 46°N - 17°S, 128°W - 75°W (Ref. 6181)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Pacific: Cape Kiwanda, Oregon, USA to the Gulf of California; then from 5°N to southern Peru.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 210 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9351); common length : 150 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9351); max. published weight: 1.4 kg (Ref. 6181)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal soft rays (total): 78 - 87; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 41 - 50; Vertebrae: 84 - 93. Upper head profile slightly convex, rising gently from snout to dorsal-fin origin. Orbits nearly touching dorsal profile; interorbital space slightly concave. Pelvic fins reduced to 1 scale-like spine and 1 - 2 tiny rays. Pyloric caeca 16 - 18. Color of body is black or brown with a silvery shine along the abdomen.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Benthopelagic on the continental shelf and slope, up to a depth of 400 m or more; generally found over sandy bottoms at a depth between 100 and 250 m (Ref. 9351). During cold season, it is often seen near the surface at nights when the moon is full (Ref. 9351). May also be encountered in surge zones and sometimes observed to be beached in large numbers by the shore (Ref. 9351). A schooling species which feeds on cephalopods, euphausiids and small fishes, including Engraulis mordax and juvenile Merluccius productus. Marketed fresh and frozen (Ref. 9351). Excellent food fish, also processed into fish meal and oil (Ref. 9351).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Parin, Nikolay V. | Collaborators

Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin, 1993. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 15. 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. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(15):136 p. (Ref. 6181)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)


CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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Diet compositions
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Visual pigment(s)
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 8.2 - 15.4, mean 12.8 °C (based on 70 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5156   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00275 (0.00105 - 0.00724), b=3.06 (2.83 - 3.29), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.59 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 11.5 [5.3, 23.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.289 [0.135, 0.650] mg/100g; Protein = 17.2 [15.5, 18.8] %; Omega3 = 0.209 [0.095, 0.481] g/100g; Selenium = 30.3 [11.9, 77.8] μg/100g; VitaminA = 8.03 [1.37, 41.90] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.26 [0.17, 0.43] mg/100g (wet weight);