Alepisaurus ferox, Long snouted lancetfish : fisheries

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Alepisaurus ferox Lowe, 1833

Long snouted lancetfish
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Alepisaurus ferox   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Alepisaurus ferox (Long snouted lancetfish)
Alepisaurus ferox
Picture by Chow, S.

Japan country information

Common names: Mizu-uo
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Ranges from the southern coast of Hokkaido to southern Japan. Often stranded on Miho Beach, Suruga Bay, throughout the year except during the summer. Also Ref. 434.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.maff.go.jp/eindex.html
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno and T. Yoshino, 1984
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Lancier longnez, Lanzón picudo, Longsnouted lancetfish, ... more

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Aulopiformes (Grinners) > Alepisauridae (Lancetfishes)
Etymology: Alepisaurus: Greek, alepis, -idos = without scales + Greek, sauros = lizard (Ref. 45335); ferox: The specific name is derived from ferox, meaning ferocious (Ref. 6885).
More on author: Lowe.

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

Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51887); depth range 0 - 1830 m (Ref. 50550). Deep-water; 84°N - 57°S, 180°W - 180°E

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

Circumglobal: Western Pacific (Ref. 6885, 7300); Eastern Pacific: from the Aleutian Islands to Chile, also (Ref. 2850); Western Atlantic: Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, also (Ref. 7251); Eastern Atlantic (Ref. 4059). Indian Ocean (Ref. 57630). Northwest Atlantic: Canada (Ref. 5951). South China Sea and East China Sea (Ref. 74511).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 215 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); max. published weight: 9.0 kg (Ref. 42154)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 30 - 45; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 13 - 18; Vertebrae: 47 - 52. Mouth large with two erect fangs on palatines. Dorsal fin very high, about three rays beginning with third or fourth much exerted; adipose moderate in size, over posterior part of anal insertion (Ref. 6885). Generally pale, iridescent, darker dorsally; lateral adipose keel dark; all fins dark brown or black; peritoneum black (Ref. 6885). Branchiostegal rays: 7-8 (Ref. 36025).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: circular.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Mainly inhabit tropical and subtropical waters; however, during the feeding period adults may migrate to the subarctic reaching as far north as Greenland, Iceland and the Bering Sea (Ref. 51887). Epipelagic- and mesopelagic, from near the surface to below 1,000 m, sometimes approaching inshore waters (Ref. 6011). Bathypelagic (Ref. 58302). Mainly nocturnal. Feeds on fishes, cephalopods, tunicates, and crustaceans (Ref. 6011). Preyed upon by opah, sharks, albacore, yellowfin tuna, and fur seals (Ref. 6885). Oviparous, with planktonic larvae (Ref. 36025). Are synchronous hermaphrodites (Ref. 84733). Occasionally consumed but of little importance due to its soft flesh (Ref. 5217). The maximum weight given is for a 167 cm FL specimen (Ref. 42154).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous. Gonads of adolescents are hermaphroditic, but there is no proof that the species is a functional hermaphrodite (Ref. 6011). However, further studies show that this species is a synchronous hermaphrodite where gonads consist of clearly defined and well separated ovarian and testicular regions with no indication of sequential maturation of the sex products (Ref. 84733).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Thompson, Bruce | Collaborators

Post, A., 1984. Alepisauridae. p. 494-495. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 6011)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 04 February 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

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

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 4.7 - 14.6, mean 8.9 °C (based on 1772 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.0   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 13 [4, 37] mg/100g; Iron = 0.292 [0.097, 0.916] mg/100g; Protein = 16.3 [13.1, 18.8] %; Omega3 = 0.0817 [, ] g/100g; Selenium = 33.6 [10.2, 94.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 7.96 [0.91, 66.44] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.284 [0.147, 0.569] mg/100g (wet weight);