Cutlassfish

Cutlassfish
Trichiurus lepturus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Scombriformes
Suborder:	Scombroidei
Family:	Trichiuridae Rafinesque, 1810
Genera
Aphanopus Assurger Benthodesmus Demissolinea Eupleurogrammus Evoxymetopon Lepidopus Lepturacanthus Tentoriceps Trichiurus See text for species.

Silver scabbardfish, Lepidopus caudatus

Benthodesmus simonyi

Aphanopus carbo

The cutlassfishes are about 45 species of predatory 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.^[1]

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.