Largehead hairtail
Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, 1758
The largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) is a bony fish in the family Trichiuridae and the order Scombriformes. It is also called hairtail, beltfish, snakefish, hair-tail and hair tail.
Quick facts about the largehead hairtail
Linnaeus named the species in 1758, and it belongs to the subfamily Trichiurinae within the suborder Scombroidei. The IUCN Red List assesses the largehead hairtail globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the largehead hairtail
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Where does the largehead hairtail live?
Not recorded
What is the largehead hairtail?
The largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) or beltfish is a member of the cutlassfish family, Trichiuridae. It has a long, flat, ribbon-like body that comes to a point, with a single dorsal fin along its entire length and no ventral or caudal fins. It is an aggressive, sharp-toothed pescivore. It is a common to abundant species in tropical and temperate oceans and supports major fisheries worldwide. The Atlantic, East Pacific, and Northwest Pacific populations are also known as Atlantic cutlassfish, Pacific cutlassfish, and Japanese cutlassfish, and are sometimes classified as different species or subspecies.
From the Wikipedia article “Largehead hairtail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Largehead_hairtail&oldid=1383298680), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the largehead hairtail endangered?
The largehead hairtail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the largehead hairtail classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderScombriformes
- familyTrichiuridae
- genusTrichiurus
- SpeciesTrichiurus lepturus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Clupea haumela, Trachiurus lepturus, Trichiuris haumela, Trichiurus argenteus, Trichiurus coxii, Trichiurus electricus, Trichiurus hamrela, Trichiurus haumela, Trichiurus lajor, Trichiurus malabaricus, Trichiurus nitens, Trichurus lepturus, Trichyurus lepturus
Other names and names in other languages (106)
- Atlantic cutlass fishEnglish
- Atlantic cutlassfishEnglish
- Atlantic cutlassfishEnglish
- Australian hairtailEnglish
- Australian hairtailEnglish
- BeltfishEnglish
- Blade-fishEnglish
- Common hairtailEnglish
- Common hairtailEnglish
- Cox's hairtailEnglish
- Cutlass fishEnglish
- Cutlass fishEnglish
- Cutlass-fishEnglish
- CutlassfishEnglish
- Grey ribbon fishEnglish
- Grey ribbon fishEnglish
- Hair tailEnglish
- Hair-tailEnglish
- HairtailEnglish
- HairtailEnglish
- Japanese cutlassfishEnglish
- Large headed hairtailEnglish
- Large headed hairtailEnglish
- Large-head ribbonfishEnglish
- Large-head ribbonfishEnglish
- Large-headed hairtailEnglish
- Largeheaded ribbonfishEnglish
- Largeheaded ribbonfishEnglish
- Northern hairtailEnglish
- Pacific cutlassfishEnglish
- Pacific cutlassfishEnglish
- Ribbon fishEnglish
- Ribbon fishEnglish
- Silver cutlassfishEnglish
- SilverfishEnglish
- SilverfishEnglish
- Silvery hairtailEnglish
- SnakefishEnglish
- SweepstertAfrikaans
- سمك النصلArabic
- سمك الحزامArabic
- سمك القطلس الأطلسيArabic
- سمك القطلس اليابانيArabic
- شعري الذيل الأستراليArabic
- شعري الذيل الشماليArabic
- شعري الذيل الفضيArabic
- شعري الذيل كوكسArabic
- سمك القطلس المحيط الهادئArabic
- شعري الذيل كبير الرأسArabic
- SabrennBreton
- Sabre cuafíCatalan
- tkaničnice atlantskáCzech
- HårhaleDanish
- DegenfischGerman
- HaarschwanzGerman
- Λέπτουρο σπαθόψαροGreek
- CintaSpanish
- CintillaSpanish
- CorbataSpanish
- CorreaSpanish
- EspadaSpanish
- MacheteSpanish
- Peje EspadaSpanish
- Pez SableSpanish
- sableSpanish
- sable del AtlánticoSpanish
- sable del PacíficoSpanish
- SabreSpanish
- SavolaSpanish
- TajalíSpanish
- huotrakalaFinnish
- Poisson SabreFrench
- Poisson CeintureFrench
- Poisson Sabre CommunFrench
- poisson-sabre communFrench
- רצוען דק-זנבHebrew
- LayurIndonesian
- Ikan BeledangIndonesian
- Pesce coltelloItalian
- タチウオJapanese
- 太刀魚Japanese
- 갈치Korean
- Pe̍h-tòa-hîMin Nan Chinese
- trådstjertNorwegian Bokmål
- haarstaartdegenvisDutch
- trådstjertNorwegian Nynorsk
- LírioPortuguese
- Peixe-espadaPortuguese
- Обыкновенная рыба-сабляRussian
- Волосохвост обыкновенныйRussian
- обыкновенная сабля-рыбаRussian
- peshk thikëAlbanian
- peshku shiritAlbanian
- HårstjärtSwedish
- సవళ్ళూTelugu
- ปลาดาบเงินเล็กThai
- kilkuyruk baligiTurkish
- Kılkuyruk BalığıTurkish
- Pexhon-cingueWalloon
- 油帶Chinese
- 天竺帶魚Chinese
- 白帶魚Chinese
- 白魚Chinese
- 肥帶Chinese
- 裙帶Chinese
- 高鰭帶魚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the largehead hairtail
Other species in the same genus Trichiurus.
Pearly hairtail
Trichiurus auriga
Australian hairtail
Trichiurus australis
Ganges hairtail
Trichiurus gangeticus
CompareLargehead hairtail vs Pearly hairtailLargehead hairtail vs Australian hairtailLargehead hairtail vs Trichiurus brevisLargehead hairtail vs Ganges hairtail
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the largehead hairtail?
The largehead hairtail is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Trichiuridae in the order Scombriformes.
What is the scientific name of the largehead hairtail?
Its scientific name is Trichiurus lepturus, placed in the genus Trichiurus.
Who named the largehead hairtail and when?
The species was named by Linnaeus in 1758.
Is the largehead hairtail endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the largehead hairtail have?
It is also called hairtail, beltfish, snakefish, hair-tail and hair tail.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/trichiurus-lepturus
“Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/trichiurus-lepturus.
@misc{trichiurus_lepturus_2026,
title = {Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/trichiurus-lepturus},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}