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Slimehead

Trachichthyidae (family), “Slimehead Family”

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Slimeheads, also known as roughies and redfish, are mostly small, exceptionally long-lived, deep-sea beryciform fish constituting the family Trachichthyidae (derived from the Greek trachys – "rough" and ichthys – "fish"). Found in temperate to tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, the family comprises about 50 species in eight genera. Slimeheads are named for the network of muciferous canals riddling their heads. The larger species – namely the orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) and Darwin's slimehead (Gephyroberyx darwinii) – are the target of extensive commercial fisheries off Australia and New Zealand. Many populations have already crashed, while others are showing signs of severe overfishing; due to slimeheads' slow rate of reproduction, the future viability…