An acquaintance of mine caught this fish in the waters around Curacao.
Which fish is this?
Asker: Ludo, 66 years
Answer
Dear Ludo,
I suspect this is Trichiurus lepturus (http://www.fishbase.se/Country/CountrySpeciesSummary.php?c_code=531&id=1288). This is a fish with a very large distribution, and can be found on the coast of Curacao. The head somewhat resembles that of a barracuda, but the fish of this family of Trichiuridae have a slender tail (which is thread-shaped at the end – NL name is therefore ‘scissor tail swordfish’).
Best regards
Dominique Adriaens
Answered by
Prof. dr. dr. Dominique Adriaens
evolutionary morphology vertebrates ichthyology (fish biology) anatomy histology morphometry evolution
university of Ghent
http://www.ugent.be
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