Teleostei (teleosts) >
Scombriformes (Mackerels) >
Trichiuridae (Cutlassfishes) > Trichiurinae
Etymology: Lepturacanthus: Greek, leptos = thin + Greek, oura = tail + Greek, akantha = thorn (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr V R Pantulu was a biologist at the Central Inland Fisheries Research Station, Calcutta and had been a fisheries scientist in West Bengal (type locality). [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; depth range 0 - 80 m (Ref. 6181). Tropical; 21°N - 5°N, 76°E - 87°E (Ref. 6181)
Indian Ocean: Hooghly estuaries to Gulf of Mannar in the east coast of India.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 92.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6181); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6181)
Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 121 - 131; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 74 - 84. Body extremely elongate, compressed and tapering to a point. Anal fin reduced to a long spine and 74 - 84 smaller spinules; pelvic and caudal fins absent. Lateral line running nearer the ventral contour than the dorsal contour of the body. Body color steely blue with metallic reflections in fresh specimens, becoming silvery gray after death.
Benthopelagic or pelagic in estuaries and coastal waters. Feeds on a wide variety of small fishes and crustaceans chiefly on prawns, young clupeoids, Harpodon nehereus and Trichiurus spp. in Hooghly estuaries, India. Caught mainly with bag nets in estuaries, with shore seines and boat seines in inshore waters, and with trawls in off-shore waters. Marketed fresh as well as dried salted.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
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: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00191 (0.00078 - 0.00466), b=3.12 (2.91 - 3.33), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.1 ±0.71 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High vulnerability (57 of 100).
