Atlantic cutlass fish
Trichiurus lepturus
- Usual depth2–79 m
- Water temperature15–29 °C
- Best monthsApril, May, and October
- How commonCommon
About this species
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 from the Wikipedia article “Largehead hairtail”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 680 records
- February: 1,414 records
- March: 1,544 records
- April: 2,004 records
- May: 1,855 records
- June: 1,236 records
- July: 1,212 records
- August: 1,257 records
- September: 1,455 records
- October: 1,847 records
- November: 1,628 records
- December: 1,364 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 2–79 m · Deepest record: 930 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 15–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Atlantic cutlass fish, Atlantic cutlassfish, Hairtail, Largehead hairtail, Australian hairtail, Beltfish, Blade-fish, Common Hairtail, Cox's Hairtail, Cutlass-fish, Cutlassfish, Cutlass Fish, Grey Ribbon Fish, hairtail, Hair tail, Hair-tail, Japanese Cutlassfish, Large-headed Hairtail, Large Headed Hairtail, Largeheaded Ribbonfish, largehead hairtail, Largehead hairtail, Hairtail, Large-head Ribbonfish, Northern Hairtail, Pacific cutlassfish, Ribbon Fish, Silver Cutlassfish, Silverfish, Silvery Hairtail, Snakefish
Names in 8 more languages
- German
- Degenfisch, Haarschwanz
- Spanish
- Cinta, Cintilla, Corbata, Correa, Espada, Machete, Peje Espada, Pez Sable, Sable, sable del Atlántico, sable del Pacífico, Sabre, Savola, Tajalí
- French
- Poisson Ceinture, Poisson Sabre, poisson-sabre commun, Poisson Sabre Commun, Poisson-sabre commun, Poisson-sabre, Sabre
- Indonesian
- Ikan Beledang, Layur
- Japanese
- タチウオ, 太刀魚
- Korean
- 갈치
- Thai
- ปลาดาบเงินเล็ก
- Simplified Chinese
- 天竺帶魚, 油帶, 白帶魚, 白魚, 肥帶, 裙帶, 高鰭帶魚
Other scientific names: Clupea haumela, Trachiurus lepturus, Trichiuris haumela, Trichiurus argenteus, Trichiurus coxii, Trichiurus haumela, Trichiurus lajor, Trichiurus malabaricus, Trichiurus nitens, Trichurus lepturus, Trichyurus lepturus
Similar species
- Black scabbardfish
Aphanopus carbo
- Slender frostfish
Benthodesmus tenuis
- Becker's Scabbardfish
Aphanopus beckeri
- Capricorn Escabbardfish
Aphanopus capricornis
- Tucker's frostfish
Benthodesmus tuckeri
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 22,660 open-data records from 1758 to 2025.
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