{{Short description|Common name for several species of fish}} {{Redirect|Hairtails|the butterflies with this name|Anthene{{!}}''Anthene''}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Early Eocene|present|earliest=63|Early Eocene to present}} Potential Paleocene occurrence | image = Trichiurus lepturus.jpg | image_caption = ''Trichiurus lepturus'' | taxon = Trichiuridae | authority = Rafinesque, 1810 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = *''Aphanopus'' *''Assurger'' *''Benthodesmus'' *''Demissolinea'' *''Eupleurogrammus'' *''Evoxymetopon'' *''Lepidopus'' *''Lepturacanthus'' *''Tentoriceps'' *''Trichiurus'' *{{extinct}}''Anenchelum'' *{{extinct}}''Eomastix'' *{{extinct}}''Eutrichiurides'' *{{extinct}}''Trichiurides'' See text for species. }} {{multiple image | align = right | caption_align = center | direction = vertical | width = 254 | image1 = Drawing_of_Lepidopus_caudatus_from_The_Royal_Natural_History_(1896).jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = Silver scabbardfish, ''Lepidopus caudatus'' | image2 = Benthodesmus simonyi.jpg | alt2 = | caption2 = ''Benthodesmus simonyi'' | image3 = Aphanopus carbo.jpg | alt3 = | caption3 = ''Aphanopus carbo''<!-- Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42 (2007) 38–46 --> }}

The '''cutlassfishes''' are about 45 species of predatory ray-finned fish in the family '''Trichiuridae''' of the order Scombriformes found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this family are long, slender, and generally steely blue or silver in colour, giving rise to their name. They have reduced or absent pelvic and caudal fins, giving them an eel-like appearance, and large fang-like teeth.<ref name=EoF>{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author1=Johnson, G.D. |author2=Gill, A.C.|year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher=Academic Press|location=San Diego|page=190|isbn= 0-12-547665-5}}</ref>

Some of the species are known as '''scabbardfishes''' or '''hairtails'''; others are called '''frostfishes''' because they appear in late autumn and early winter, around the time of the first frosts.

The earliest known remains of cutlassfish are isolated teeth assigned to ''Eutrichiurides'' from the Early Paleocene of Morocco, the United States, and Angola,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cvancara |first1=Alan M. |last2=Hoganson |first2=John W. |date=1993-03-18 |title=Vertebrates of the Cannonball Formation (Paleocene) in North and South Dakota |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.1993.10011484 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=1–23 |doi=10.1080/02724634.1993.10011484 |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}</ref> although their affinities are subject to question. The earliest known body fossil of a cutlassfish is a specimen tentatively assigned to ''Anenchelum'' from the Early Eocene of Italy.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Beckett |first1=Hermione T. |last2=Giles |first2=Sam |last3=Johanson |first3=Zerina |last4=Friedman |first4=Matt |date=2018 |title=Morphology and phylogenetic relationships of fossil snake mackerels and cutlassfishes (Trichiuroidea) from the Eocene (Ypresian) London Clay Formation |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/spp2.1221 |journal=Papers in Palaeontology |language=en |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=577–603 |doi=10.1002/spp2.1221 |issn=2056-2802|hdl=2027.42/146609 |hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Classification== This list of species follows FishBase:<ref>{{FishBase family|family = Trichiuridae|month = January|year = 2006}}</ref>

* Subfamily '''Aphanopidinae''' <small>Gill, 1863</small> ** †Genus ''Anenchelum'' (Early Eocene to Late Miocene)<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Bannikov |first1=A. F. |last2=Parin |first2=N. V. |date=1995 |title=Description of a New Species of Scabbardlish (Aphanopinae: Trichiuridae) from the Middle Eocene of the Northern Caucasus, with Restoration of the Validity of the Fossil Genus ''Anenchelum'' |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268219539 |journal=Journal of Lchthyology |volume=35 |issue=9}}</ref> ** Genus ''Aphanopus'' *** ''Aphanopus arigato'' <small>Parin, 1994</small> *** ''Aphanopus beckeri'' <small>Parin, 1994</small> *** ''Aphanopus capricornis'' <small>Parin, 1994</small> *** ''Aphanopus carbo'' <small>Lowe, 1839</small> (Black scabbardfish) *** ''Aphanopus intermedius'' <small>Parin, 1983</small> (Intermediate scabbardfish) *** ''Aphanopus microphthalmus'' <small>Norman, 1939</small> (Smalleye scabbardfish) *** ''Aphanopus mikhailini'' <small>Parin, 1983</small> (Mikhailin's scabbardfish) ** Genus ''Benthodesmus'' <small>Goode & Bean, 1882</small> *** ''Benthodesmus elongatus'', <small>Clarke, 1879</small> (Elongate frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus macrophthalmus'', <small>Parin & Becker, 1970</small> (Bigeye frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus neglectus'', <small>Parin, 1976</small> (Neglected frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus oligoradiatus'', <small>Parin & Becker, 1970</small> (Sparse-rayed frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus pacificus'', <small>Parin & Becker, 1970</small> (North Pacific frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus papua'', <small>Parin, 1978</small> (Papuan frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus simonyi'', <small>Steindachner, 1891</small> (Simony's frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus suluensis'', <small>Parin, 1976</small> (Philippine frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus tenuis'', <small>Günther, 1877</small> (Slender frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus tuckeri'', <small>Parin & Becker, 1970</small> (Tucker's frostfish) *** ''Benthodesmus vityazi'', <small>Parin & Becker, 1970</small> (Vityaz' frostfish) * Subfamily '''Lepidopodinae''', <small>Gill, 1863</small> ** Genus ''Assurger'' *** ''Assurger anzac'' <small>Alexander, 1917</small> (Razorback scabbardfish) ** Genus ''Eupleurogrammus'' *** ''Eupleurogrammus glossodon'', <small>(Bleeker, 1860)</small> (Longtooth hairtail) *** ''Eupleurogrammus muticus'', <small>(Gray, 1831)</small> (Smallhead hairtail) ** Genus ''Evoxymetopon'' *** ''Evoxymetopon macrophthalmus'' <small>Chakraborty, Yoshino & Iwatsuki, 2006</small><ref>{{cite journal | journal = Ichthyological Research | volume = 53 | issue = 2 | year = 2006 | pages = 137–142 | title = A new species of scabbardfish, Evoxymetopon macrophthalmus (Scombroidei: Trichiuridae), from Okinawa, Japan | author = Chakraborty, Yoshino & Iwatsuki | doi = 10.1007/s10228-005-0319-x}}</ref> *** ''Evoxymetopon moricheni'' <small>Fricke, Golani & Appelbaum-Golani, 2014</small><ref>Fricke, R., Golani, D. & Appelbaum-Golani, B. (2014): Evoxymetopon moricheni, a new cutlassfish from the northern Red Sea (Teleostei: Trichiuridae). ''Ichthyological Research 61 (3): 293–297''.</ref> *** ''Evoxymetopon poeyi'' <small>Günther, 1887</small> (Poey's scabbardfish) *** ''Evoxymetopon taeniatus'' <small>Gill, 1863</small> (Channel scabbardfish) ** Genus ''Lepidopus'' *** ''Lepidopus altifrons'', <small>Parin & Collette, 1993</small> (Crested scabbardfish) *** ''Lepidopus calcar'', <small>Parin & Mikhailin, 1982</small> (Hawaiian ridge scabbardfish) *** ''Lepidopus caudatus'', <small>(Euphrasen, 1788)</small> (Silver scabbardfish) *** ''Lepidopus dubius'', <small>Parin & Mikhailin, 1981</small> (Doubtful scabbardfish) *** ''Lepidopus fitchi '', <small>Rosenblatt & Wilson, 1987</small> (Fitch's scabbardfish) *** ''Lepidopus manis'', <small>Rosenblatt & Wilson, 1987</small> (Ghost scabbardfish) **Genus †''Musculopedunculus'' <small>Parin & Astakhov, 2007</small> (Early Oligocene of Germany)<ref name=":2" /> *Subfamily '''Trichiurinae''' <small>Rafinesque, 1810</small> ** Genus ''Demissolinea'' *** ''Demissolinea novaeguineensis'', <small>Burhanuddin & Iwatsuki, 2003</small> (New Guinean hairtail) **Genus †''Eutrichiurides'' (Eocene to Oligocene)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=PBDB Taxon |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=345201 |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref> ** Genus ''Lepturacanthus'' *** ''Lepturacanthus pantului'', <small>(Gupta, 1966)</small> (Coromandel hairtail) *** ''Lepturacanthus roelandti'' <small>(Bleeker, 1860)</small> *** ''Lepturacanthus savala'', <small>(Cuvier, 1829)</small> (Savalani hairtail) ** Genus ''Tentoriceps'' *** ''Tentoriceps cristatus'', <small>(Klunzinger, 1884)</small> (Crested hairtail) **Genus †''Trichiurides'' (Eocene)<ref name=":0" /> ** Genus ''Trichiurus'' *** ''Trichiurus auriga'', <small>Klunzinger, 1884</small> (Pearly hairtail) *** ''Trichiurus australis'' <small>Chakraborty, Burhanuddin & Iwatsuki, 2005</small><ref>{{cite journal | journal = Ichthyological Research | doi = 10.1007/s10228-005-0268-4 | volume = 52 | issue = 2 | year = 2005 | pages = 165–170 | title = A new species, ''Trichiurus australis'' (Scombriformes: Trichiuridae), from Australia |author1=Anirban Chakraborty |author2=Andi Iqbal Burhanuddin |author3=Yukio Iwatsuki }}</ref> *** ''Trichiurus brevis'', <small>Wang & You, 1992</small> (Chinese short-tailed hairtail) *** ''Trichiurus gangeticus'', <small>Gupta, 1966</small> (Ganges hairtail) *** ''Trichiurus lepturus'', <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small> (Largehead hairtail) *** ''Trichiurus margarites'', <small>Li, 1992</small> *** ''Trichiurus nanhaiensis'', <small>Wang & Xu, 1992</small> *** ''Trichiurus nickolensis'', <small>Burhanuddin & Iwatsuki, 2003</small> (Australian short-tailed hairtail) *** ''Trichiurus russelli'', <small>Dutt & Thankam, 1966</small> (Short-tailed hairtail)

==Timeline of genera==

<timeline> ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px

Period = from:-65.5 till:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify

Colors = #legends id:CAR value:claret id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196) id:HER value:teal id:HAD value:green id:OMN value:blue id:black value:black id:white value:white id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5) id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68) id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:NAM2

bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era

PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:periodtop from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:Paleocene from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:Oligocene from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text:Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:Pleist. from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text:H.

bar:eratop from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:Paleogene from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:Neogene from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text:Q.

PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left

color:paleocene bar:NAM1 from: -65.5 till: -28.4 text: Eutrichiurides color:eocene bar:NAM2 from: -48.6 till: 0 text: Lepidopus

PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25

bar:period from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:Paleocene from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:Eocene from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:Oligocene from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:Miocene from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text:Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:Pleist. from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text:H.

bar:era from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:Paleogene from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:Neogene from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text:Q.

</timeline>

==References== {{Reflist}} * {{cite journal|last=Sepkoski |first=Jack |title=A compendium of fossil marine animal genera |journal=Bulletins of American Paleontology |volume=364 |page=560 |year=2002 |url=http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |access-date=2011-05-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723131237/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class |archive-date=2011-07-23 }}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20040113103118/http://f15.aaacafe.ne.jp/~ichthy/eat/saba2tati.html Listing of Trichiuridae in English and Japanese 2003-10-27]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q480817}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Trichiuridae Category:Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Category:Long stubs with short prose

{{Scombroidei-stub}}