Aphanopus carbo
| Black scabbardfish | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Trichiuridae |
| Genus: | Aphanopus |
| Species: | A. carbo |
| Binomial name | |
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Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839 |
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The black scabbardfish, Aphanopus carbo, is a bathypelagic cutlassfish of the family Trichiuridae found in the Atlantic Ocean between latitudes 69° N and 27° N at depths of between 180 to 1,700 m (591 to 5,577 ft). Its length is up to 110 cm (3.6 ft), but it reaches maturity at around 80 to 85 cm (2.62 to 2.79 ft).
The black scabbardfish is a fish with a body that is extremely elongated. The body height is about one-eight of the standard length, which is up to 1.1 m (3.6 ft). The snout is large with strong fang-like teeth. The dorsal fin has 34 to 41 spines and 52 to 56 soft rays. The anal fin has 2 spines and 43 to 48 soft rays. The pelvic fins are represented by a single spine in juveniles but are entirely absent in adults. The color is a coppery black with an iridescent tint. The inside of the mouth and gill cavities are black. Juveniles are believed to be mesopelagic, living at depths from 100 to 500 m (328 to 1,640 ft).
The black scabbardfish is bathypelagic by day but moves upwards in the water column at night to feed at middle depths on crustaceans, cephalopods and other fishes, mostly grenadiers, codlings (family Moridae) and naked heads (family Alepocephalidae). The black scabbardfish coexists spatially with aphanopus intermedius Parin, which is a species commonly known as the intermediate scabbardfish. The narrow, elongated body of the black scabbardfish, along with its pointed head and long dorsal fin, are adapted for fast swimming. This fish has a large terminal mouth with large fang like teeth for efficient predation. In order to camouflage well, it has a coppery-black coloration with an iridescent tint. The fish’s large eyes which have a diameter of 1/5-1/6 of the head length, are of such a large size to facilitate sight in low light. They become sexually mature at a length of about 80 cm (31 in). Both the eggs and the larvae are pelagic, drifting with the plankton. In general, the size distribution moves towards higher values from north to south of the NE Atlantic. Eggs and larval stages of this fish are unknown and juvenile fish are rarely caught. Juveniles, however, are reported to be mesopelagic. The life cycle of black scabbardfish is unknown, but the most common hypothesis is that one single stock undertakes a large scale clockwise migration around the NE atlantic. Spawning is restricted to certain areas including Madeira, the Canary Islands, and possibly further south. The juvenile black scabbardfish stay to feed and grow for a few years in the fisheries south of the Faroe Islands and the west of the British Isles. Afterwards, the juveniles then move south towards mainland Portugal and even further south to the spawning areas. The most recent studies indicate that the maximum age of the black scabbardfish from Madeira was about 14 years and the maximum age in Mainland Portugal was about 12 years. As opposed to most shelf demersal and pelagic commercial fish, the black scabbardfish exhibit a slow growth rate in adults. This slow growth rate results from energy investment of growth and reproduction.
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