Cutlassfish

Body extremely elongate, compressed and tapering to a point. Anal fin reduced to minute spinules buried in skin; caudal fin absent; pelvic fins present but reduced to a scale-like process. Lateral line running almost straight along midbody or slightly nearer the ventral contour. Color of fresh specimens steely blue with metallic reflections, becoming silvery gray after death.

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 140

Inhabits coastal waters and often comes near the surface at night. Enters estuaries (Ref. 1479). Feeds on a wide variety of small fishes, squids and crustaceans.

Inhabits coastal waters and often comes near the surface at night. Enters estuaries (Ref. 1479). Feeds on a wide variety of small fishes, squids and crustaceans. Marketed mainly in dried and salted forms (sometimes fresh), mixed with other trichiurids. Caught mainly with shore seines, bag nets and coastal bottom trawls in coastal waters down to about 50 m in West Bengal to Madras and around Bombay of India.

fisheries: commercial