Silver scabbardfish

Silver scabbardfish
Conservation status
	; Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Scombriformes
Family:	Trichiuridae
Genus:	Lepidopus
Species:	L. caudatus
Binomial name
	Lepidopus caudatus; (Euphrasen, 1788)
Synonyms
	Trichiurus caudatus Euphrasen, 1788; Lepidopus argenteus Bonnaterre, 1788; Trichiurus ensiformis Vandelli, 1797; Lepidopus gouanianus Lacepède, 1800; Trichiurus gladius Holten, 1802; Vandellius lusitanicus Shaw, 1803; Scarcina argyrea Rafinesque, 1810; Lepidopus peronii Risso, 1810; Ziphotheca tetradens Montagu, 1811; Lepidopus xantusi Goode & Bean, 1896; Lepidopus lex Phillipps, 1932;

The silver scabbardfish (Lepidopus caudatus), also known as the frostfish or beltfish is a benthopelagic cutlassfish of the family Trichiuridae found throughout the temperate seas of the world. It grows to over 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in length.

Behaviour

Lepidopus caudatus is known to strand itself in winter months, likely due to being caught in currents when the fish migrate closer to shore for spawning.^[2]

In a human context

Lepidopus caudatus is a traditional food for the Māori people of New Zealand, known by the name pāra. The fish was not typically caught, but eaten as a supplementary food when schools washed ashore, especially common around Moeraki in Otago.^[2] Māori traditionally believed that strandings were caused by the fish chasing the Moon, while early European settlers believed that frostfish purposefully chose to end their lives by stranding themselves.^[2]

References

^ Iwamoto, T. (2015). "Lepidopus caudatus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T198721A42691759. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198721A42691759.en.
^ ^a ^b ^c Vennell, Robert (5 October 2022). Secrets of the Sea: The Story of New Zealand's Native Sea Creatures. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. pp. 214–217. ISBN 978-1-77554-179-0. LCCN 2021388548. Wikidata Q114871191.

Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Lepidopus caudatus". FishBase. January 2006 version.
Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8

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[IUCN-1] Iwamoto, T. (2015). "Lepidopus caudatus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T198721A42691759. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198721A42691759.en.

[Secrets-2] Vennell, Robert (5 October 2022). Secrets of the Sea: The Story of New Zealand's Native Sea Creatures. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. pp. 214–217. ISBN 978-1-77554-179-0. LCCN 2021388548. Wikidata Q114871191.

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