TILEFISH

also called Blanquillo, any of two dozen species of elongated marine fishes in the family Branchiostegidae (order Perciformes), with representatives occurring in tropical and warm temperate seas. The family Malacanthidae is used synonymously for Branchiostegidae by some taxonomists. The most commercially important species, known specifically as the tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps), is the largest, often attaining lengths of more than 90 cm (3 feet). The tilefish has a peculiar history as a commercial fish. Living at depths of 60365 m (2001,200 feet), the species was not known until 1879, when it became commercially attractive because of its abundance in the western Gulf Stream. Then, in 1882, hundreds of millions of dead tilefish were brought to the surface after a series of severe storms. No living specimens were seen for the next 10 years, although commercial harvests later resumed. The tilefish dieoff is now thought to have been caused by the upwelling of cold waters into the fishes' customary warm-water habitat.