Lepidocybium
| Escolar | |
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Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Gempylidae |
| Genus: |
Lepidocybium T. N. Gill, 1862 |
| Species: | L. flavobrunneum |
| Binomial name | |
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Lepidocybium flavobrunneum (A. Smith, 1843) |
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The escolar, Lepidocybium flavobrunneum, a species of fish in the family Gempylidae, is found in deep (200–885 metres (656–2,904 ft)) tropical and temperate waters around the world. It is also known as snake mackerel, walu walu (Hawaiian, also seen written waloo), and is sometimes fraudulently sold as "butterfish" or "white tuna", a matter aggravated by potential health problems related to consumption of escolar.
The escolar is dark brown, growing darker with age until it is quite black. It is a fast-swimming fish with a prominent lateral keel and four to six finlets after the anal and second dorsal fins. Escolar can grow to over 2 m in length. Like its relative the oilfish (Ruvettus pretiosus), escolar cannot metabolize the wax esters (gempylotoxin) naturally found in its diet. This gives the escolar an oil content of 14–25% in its flesh.
Escolar's wax ester content can cause keriorrhea (Greek: flow of wax), gempylotoxism or gempylid fish poisoning. Symptoms range from stomach cramps to rapid loose bowel movements, occurring 30 minutes to 36 hours following consumption. This condition may also be referred to as steatorrhea.
Two known ways to reduce the likelihood of escolar-induced keriorrhea are to limit portions to six ounces (170 g) or less and to consume portions close to the tail, which typically have a lower wax ester content. Reports conflict on whether deep skinning, freezing or grilling will reduce the likelihood of keriorrhea.
Escolar can be mislabeled in both restaurants and at fish markets. In 2009 tuna samples from sushi restaurants in New York City and Denver were DNA tested. Five of nine restaurants serving fish labeled “white tuna,” “white tuna (albacore)” or “super white tuna” were actually serving escolar. From 2010 to 2013, a study by Oceana, an Ocean preservation organization, tested over 114 samples of tuna, and found that 84% of the white tuna samples were actually escolar.
Oceana claims that escolar has been mislabeled or otherwise confused with the following fish: Atlantic cod, oilfish (related to escolar but in a different genus), rudderfish, blue cod, black cod, king tuna, grouper, orange roughy, sea bass, gemfish, Chilean sea bass, albacore tuna, and white tuna.
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Wikipedia