Trichiurus japonicus
| Trichiurus japonicus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Family: | Trichiuridae |
| Genus: | Trichiurus |
| Species: | T. japonicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Trichiurus japonicus | |
| Synonyms[1][2][3] | |
| |
Trichiurus japonicus, the Japanese cutlassfish, white ribbonfish or slender ribbonfish,[4] is a species of cutlassfish in the genus Trichiurus, family Trichiuridae, order Scombriformes, superorder Percomorpha. It is distributed in the northwestern Pacific Ocean and inhabits subtropical offshore benthopelagic waters. The species has a long, ribbon-like body, reaches a relatively large size, and is an important commercial fish commonly harvested throughout its range. It was long treated as a subspecies or synonym of the largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus).[5][6][7]
Nomenclature
This fish was first named in 1844 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck and the German zoologist Hermann Schlegel. They regarded it as a subspecies of the largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) and therefore assigned it the name Trichiurus lepturus japonicus.[6][8]
The specific epithet japonicus is Latin for “Japanese” or “of Japan,” referring to the fact that the type specimen originated from Japan.[6][8]
Taxonomy
The taxonomic status of this fish remained uncertain for a long time. It was variously treated as a subspecies or a synonym of the Trichiurus lepturus until 2022, when mitochondrial DNA analyses demonstrated that it is distinct from T. lepturus.[6][8][3]
The East China Sea population that had been referred to as the T. haumela (East China Sea cutlassfish) is now regarded as a synonym of T. japonicus.[3]
In addition, This species is the sister species of the Indian Ocean cutlassfish Trichiurus auriga (Pearly hairtail).[3]
Distribution
This species is distributed in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, including the waters of Japan, China, Taiwan, and Sakhalin Island in Russia. It is a subtropical fish species.[6][2]
Description
This species has an elongated body and is considered a large fish, reaching a maximum recorded length of 213 cm. The oldest recorded individual was 15 years old.[6]
Ecology
This species is a benthopelagic marine fish. Its ecology and behavior remain poorly known, but they are presumed to be similar to those of the largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus).[6]
Economic importance
Because this species was long treated as a subspecies of, or confused with, the largehead hairtail, its catch records and fishery statistics are not clearly documented.[5][6]
Conservation status
As recently as the 2013 assessment of the largehead hairtail, this species was still regarded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a synonym of Trichiurus lepturus. Consequently, it has not yet been assessed independently for its conservation status.[5]
References
- ↑ Bailly, Nicolas (2023-01-10). "Trichiurus japonicus Temminck & Schlegel, 1844". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - 1 2 Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Trichiurus japonicus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- 1 2 3 4 Yi, Mu-Rong; Hsu, Kui-Ching; Gu, Sui; He, Xiong-Bo; Luo, Zhi-Sen; Lin, Hung-Du; Yan, Yun-Rong (2022-01-26). "Complete mitogenomes of four Trichiurus species: A taxonomic review of the T. lepturus species complex". ZooKeys (1084): 1–26. Bibcode:2022ZooK.1084....1Y. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1084.71576. PMC 8810657. PMID 35173516.
- ↑ "日本帶魚 - 世界魚類樹狀名錄". 台灣魚類資料庫 (in Traditional Chinese). 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- 1 2 3 Frederico, R.G. (2023) [2013-01-29]. "Trichiurus lepturus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023 e.T190090A115307118. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Trichiurus japonicus". FishBase. May 2026 version.
- ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Trichiuridae". FishBase. May 2026 version.
- 1 2 3 "Order SCOMBRIFORMES: Families ICOSTEIDAE, SCOMBROLABRACIDAE, GEMPYLIDAE, TRICHIURIDAE and SCOMBRIDAE". The ETYFish Project. 2025-02-13. Archived from the original on 2025-05-04. Retrieved 2026-05-30.