Ruvettus pretiosus Cocco, 1833

Oilfish

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Perciformes \| Gempylidae
Synonyms	Rovetus temminckii, Ruvettus delagoensis, Ruvettus pacificus, ... more
Common names	Rouvet, Escolar clavo, Night barracuda, ... more

You can sponsor this page

Upload your photos and videos
| All pictures | Google image |

Ruvettus pretiosus

Picture by Randall, J.E.

Add your observation in Fish Watcher

| Native range | PointMap |

AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin. 1993. (Ref. 6181)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator : Parin, Nikolay V. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 300 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5951); common length : 150 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6181); max. published weight: 63.5 kg (Ref. 4699)

Environment

Benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); marine; depth range 100 - 800 m (Ref. 9302), usually 200 - 400 m (Ref. 6181)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 55°N - 43°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 6181)

Widely distributed in tropical and temperate seas of the world.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 13 - 15; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 18; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 15 - 18; Vertebrae: 32. Skin very rough, scales interspersed with spinous bony tubercles. Mid-ventral (abdominal) keel on the ventral contour. Body is uniformly brown to dark brown, tips of the pectoral and pelvic fins black, margins of the second dorsal and anal fins white in young specimens.

Usually over the continental shelf, sometimes in oceanic waters down to 800 m (Ref. 9302). Usually solitary or in pairs near the bottom (Ref. 6181). Migrates far offshore (Ref. 26139). Pelagic (Ref. 5951). Feeds on fish, crustaceans and squid (Ref. 6181). The peculiar wooden 'palu' or Ruvettus hook is used to catch this species in south central Pacific (Ref. 6181). The flesh is very oily, with purgative properties, if eaten much (Ref. 6181). Marketed fresh and as fish cakes in Japan (Ref. 9302); also processed into fishmeal (Ref. 5217). Maximum length corrected to 2 m (Heemstra, pers. comm. 03/03).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Poisonous to eat (Ref. 4690)

Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment Abundance	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

Tools
Biogeographic modelling \| E-book \| Field guide \| Identification keys \| Length-frequency wizard \| Life-history tool \| Point map

Special reports
Check for Aquarium maintenance \| Check for Species Fact Sheets \| Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML
Summary page \| Point data \| Common names \| Photos