The cutlassfishes are about 40 species of ray-finned fish in the family Trichiuridae (order Scombriformes) found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this family are long, slender, and generally steely blue or silver in colour, giving rise to their name. Some species are known as scabbardfishes or hairtails; others are called frostfishes because they appear in late autumn and early winter, around the time of the first frosts.