Actinopteri (ray-finned fishes) > Scombriformes
(Mackerels) > Trichiuridae
(Cutlassfishes) > Aphanopodinae
Etymology: Benthodesmus: Greek, benthos = depth of the sea + Greek, desmos = bond, chain (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 178 - 950 m (Ref. 6181), usually - m (Ref. ). Deep-water; 0°C - ; 9°S - 44°S, 30°E - 26°W (Ref. 6181)
Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: off south Brazil and Argentina, Rio Grande Rise, southeastern Africa, Madagascar Ridge, southeastern Australia, New Zealand, Sala y Gomez Ridge.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 57 - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9351)
Morphology | Morphometrics
Juveniles mesopelagic (Ref. 6181); also benthopelagic (Ref. 5951). Feeds on crustaceans (mainly prawns and euphausiids), small fishes (e.g. Maurolicus) and squid (Ref. 6202). Minimum depth reported from Ref. 36453.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Batch spawners with 5,000 to 16,000 eggs per spawn.
Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin, 1993. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 15. Snake mackerels and cutlassfishes of the world (families Gempylidae and Trichiuridae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the snake mackerels, snoeks, escolars, gemfishes, sackfishes, domine, oilfish, cutlassfishes,. scabbardfishes, hairtails, and frostfishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(15):136 p. (Ref. 6181)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 124695)
Threat to humans
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 8.9 - 17.1, mean 11.7 °C (based on 175 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00014 (0.00008 - 0.00025), b=3.10 (2.93 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245
Trophic level (Ref. 69278
): 3.9 ±0.66 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=5-6).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): High to very high vulnerability (66 of 100) .
Nutrients (Ref. 124155
): Calcium = 13.3 [6.3, 26.0] mg/100g ; Iron = 0.244 [0.132, 0.457] mg/100g ; Protein = 17.4 [15.8, 18.9] % ; Omega3 = 0.215 [0.103, 0.437] g/100g ; Selenium = 23.2 [10.0, 51.5] μg/100g ; VitaminA = 18.6 [3.9, 76.1] μg/100g ; Zinc = 0.399 [0.253, 0.650] mg/100g (wet weight);