Short-headed tyranfish

Open encyclopedia reference

The razorback scabbardfish, Assurger anzac, is a rare species of cutlassfish, family Trichiuridae, and the only member of its genus. It has been caught from scattered locations worldwide: in the Atlantic Ocean it is known from off Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the Walvis Ridge, in the Indian Ocean it is known from off western Australia, and in the Pacific Ocean it is known from off New Guinea, southern Japan, Midway Island, California, and the Nazca and Sala y Gomez Ridges. Adults are thought to be benthopelagic, occurring at a depth of 150–400 meters (490–1,310 ft), while juveniles are found near the surface or in midwater. This fish has a very long and thin body, measuring 25 to 28 times as long as deep and 12 to 14 times as long as the head. The dorsal profile of the head is straight or slightly convex, with a prominent sagittal crest. The eye diameter is about one-eighth the head length. The lower jaw juts out past the upper, and both jaws are tipped with a short dermal process.

Wikipedia contributors, Razorback scabbardfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:56:29.287407+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Assurger anzac (Alexander, 1917)

Name authority

(Alexander, 1917)

Common name

Short-headed tyranfish

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Scombriformes

Family

Trichiuridae

Genus

Assurger

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderScombriformes
11. familyTrichiuridae Rafinesque, 1810
12. subfamilyLepidopodinae Gill, 1863
13. genusAssurger Whitley, 1933
14. speciesAssurger anzac (Alexander, 1917)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 38 records assigned to Trichiuridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=279766 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:686Y9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.