On the Scabbard Fish Aphanopus Carbo

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe black scabbard fish, Aphanopus carbo Lowe, is an elongate mid-water trichiurid, which is caught commercially off Madeira, and has been recorded, though infrequently, from British waters (Tucker & Palmer, 1949; Tucker, 1956). Twelve specimens were caught during a recent cruise of R.V. ‘Sarsia’ in the Biscay area (Forster, 1970), and this note reports observations on their behaviour, histology and anatomy, which suggest that these fish are highly specialized for a particular method of catching prey.