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.
| Silver scabbardfish | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
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 | |
| |
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
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Lepidopus caudatus" in 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