Teleostei (teleosts) >
Scombriformes (Mackerels) >
Tetragonuridae (Squaretails)
Etymology: Tetragonurus: Greek, tetra = four + Greek, gonia = angle + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335); cuvieri: Named after G.C.L.D. Cuvier 1769-1832, a founder of modern ichthyology (Ref. 6885).
Eponymy: Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert Baron Cuvier (1769–1832), better known by his pen name Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and one of the scientific giants of his age. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Risso.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 800 m (Ref. 10823). Deep-water
Eastern Pacific: Aleutian Islands, Alaska to Baja California, Mexico; Chile (Ref. 9068). Western Pacific: Japan (Ref. 559), New Zealand and Australia (Ref. 6885). Western Indian Ocean: Natal, South Africa (Ref. 4415). Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean (Ref. 4415).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 70.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4415)
Oceanic, usually near surface; possibly near bottom. Perhaps occurs in schools. Young usually among jellyfishes or inside large salps. Feeds on jellyfishes and salps (Ref. 2850), also other soft-bodied coelenterates, ctenophores, as well as plankton. There are conflicting reports that the flesh of this species is poisonous (Ref. 11149).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Haedrich, R.L., 1986. Tetragonuridae. p. 851. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 4415)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)
Human uses
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Special reports
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