Family : Trichiuridae (Cutlassfishes) , subfamily: Lepidopinae
Order : Perciformes  (perch-likes)
Class : Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Fishbase Name : Smallhead hairtail
Fish Name : Eupleurogrammus muticus
Max size : 70.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 6181)
Environment : benthopelagic ; depth range - 80 m
Climate : tropical; 27°N - 1°S
Global Importance : fisheries: commercial
Resilience: High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)Distribution : Indo-West Pacific: including the Persian Gulf, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Gulf of Thailand, China and southern Korean Peninsula.
Diagnosis : Dorsal spines (total): 3-3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 140-140. Body extremely elongate, compressed and tapering to a point. Anal fin reduced to minute spinules buried in skin; caudal fin absent; pelvic fins present but reduced to a scale-like process. Lateral line running almost straight along midbody or slightly nearer the ventral contour. Color of fresh specimens steely blue with metallic reflections, becoming silvery gray after death.
Biology : Inhabits coastal waters and often comes near the surface at night. Enters estuaries (Ref. 1479). Feeds on a wide variety of small fishes, squids and crustaceans. Marketed mainly in dried and salted forms (sometimes fresh), mixed with other trichiurids. Caught mainly with shore seines, bag nets and coastal bottom trawls in coastal waters down to about 50 m in West Bengal to Madras and around Bombay of India
Threatened : Dangerous:  
Dangerous : harmless
Coordinator : Parin, Nikolay V.
Main Ref : Nakamura, I. and N.V. Parin. 1993. (Ref. 6181)

India country information
Common Names : വട, വാട, बाळा, சவாளை, തലയന്, ஓலவாளை, சாவாளை, കറൂപ്പ് തളാന്, மச்சவாளை, पिटिउरकति, पिटिवागति, വെള്ളസവാള, വെള്ളതലയന്, கார்த்திகை வாளை, വെളളത്തലയന്, വെളളപാന്വാട, యెల్లసవాళ్ళు, കറുപ്പുതലയന്, കറുപ്പുസ്വാള, കറൂപ്പുപാന്വാട, నడిప్పుస్సవాళ్ళు, மட்டாசாவ்வாளை , కొత్తిసవాళ్ళు , పెద్దసవాళ్ళు  , கர்தீகவாளை , సావల్లు , ஓலவாளை , ಪಂಬೋಲೆ , Bala, Chavalai, Gray's ribbonfish, Hair tail, Karthigaivalai, Karuppusavala, Karupputhalayan, Kothisavallu, Mattachavalai, Nadippussavallu, Olavalai, Pambole, Peddasavallu, Pitiurkti, Pitiwagti, Ribbon fish, Savallu, Thalayan, Vada, Vellasavala, Vellathalayan, Yellasavallu
Status : native
Salinity : marine
Uses : no uses