Glow-belly

Acropoma japonicum

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth80–205 m
Water temperature19–29 °C
Best monthsOctober
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Hamid Badar Osmany, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Acropoma japonicum, the glowbelly, is a fish species in the family Acropomatidae found in the Indo-West Pacific. It is a benthopelagic predatory fish with a bioluminescent organ on its ventral surface. The glowbelly is an important food fish in some areas.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Acropoma japonicum”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 8 records
February: 6 records
March: 12 records
April: 19 records
May: 15 records
June: 31 records
July: 14 records
August: 43 records
September: 42 records
October: 88 records
November: 34 records
December: 6 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 80–205 m · Deepest record: 1,395.7 m

0–10 m: 3 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 11 records
30–40 m: 10 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 5 records
90–100 m: 6 records
100–110 m: 16 records
110+ m: 226 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 19–29 °C

18–20 °C: 30 records
20–22 °C: 14 records
22–24 °C: 11 records
24–26 °C: 11 records
26–28 °C: 227 records
28–30 °C: 48 records

Names and classification

English: Glow-belly, glow-belly, glowbelly, Japanese splitfin, laternbelly

Names in 2 more languages

Japanese: Hotarujako, スミクイウオ, ホタルジャコ
Simplified Chinese: 大面側仔, 日本發光鯛, 深水惡, 目斗仔, 目本仔

Other scientific names: Acropoma japonica, Acropoma japonicus, Acropoma japononicum, Synagrops japonicus

Similar species

Blackthroat seaperch
Doederleinia berycoides

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
704 open-data records from 1859 to 2025.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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