Benham's Streamer-fish

Agrostichthys parkeri

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth342–1,029 m
Water temperature5–21 °C
Best monthsOctober
How commonRare

About this species

Agrostichthys parkeri, also called the streamer fish, streamerfish, or Benham's streamerfish, is a species of oarfish. Only seven identified specimens have been examined, with few found fully intact, and have mainly been found in the Southern Ocean. Agrostichthys parkeri belongs to the Regalecidae (oarfish) family in the Lampriformes order and is the only known member of its genus. This species has been known to grow up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) long and has a ribbon-like body, two large eyes, a protruding mouth and long filamentous rays originating at the head. Due to only seven specimens being found, only the distribution and anatomy of Agrostichthys parkeri can be documented.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Agrostichthys”, 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: 0 records
February: 2 records
March: 0 records
April: 1 records
May: 0 records
June: 1 records
July: 1 records
August: 0 records
September: 0 records
October: 4 records
November: 0 records
December: 0 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 342–1,029 m · Deepest record: 1,206.5 m

90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110–120 m: 1 records
120–130 m: 0 records
130–140 m: 0 records
140–150 m: 0 records
150–160 m: 1 records
160–170 m: 1 records
170–180 m: 0 records
180–190 m: 0 records
190–200 m: 0 records
200+ m: 48 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–21 °C

4–6 °C: 1 records
6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 8 records
10–12 °C: 4 records
12–14 °C: 24 records
14–16 °C: 15 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 1 records
20–22 °C: 2 records

Names and classification

English: Benham's Streamer-fish, Benham's Streamerfish, Oarfish, Ribbonfish, Streamer Fish

Other scientific names: Agrostichthys benhami, Regalecus parkeri

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).
70 open-data records from 1981 to 2018.

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