Shortnose lancetfish

Alepisaurus brevirostris

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth705–1,315 m
Water temperature5–27 °C
Best monthsMay, June, and November
How commonRare

About this species

Lancetfishes are large oceanic predatory ray-finned fishes in the genus Alepisaurus in the monogeneric family Alepisauridae.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 0 records
February: 4 records
March: 3 records
April: 4 records
May: 7 records
June: 11 records
July: 2 records
August: 3 records
September: 4 records
October: 2 records
November: 9 records
December: 2 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 705–1,315 m · Deepest record: 2,600 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 142 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–27 °C

4–6 °C: 7 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 1 records
10–12 °C: 13 records
12–14 °C: 21 records
14–16 °C: 84 records
16–18 °C: 54 records
18–20 °C: 17 records
20–22 °C: 8 records
22–24 °C: 8 records
24–26 °C: 3 records
26–28 °C: 2 records

Names and classification

English: Shortnose lancetfish, Lancet fish, shortnose lancetfish, Shortsnouted Handsawfish, Short snouted lancetfish, Shortsnout lancetfish

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: Lanzón nariz corta, Pez lanceta
French: cavalo ocellé, Lancier à nez court
Simplified Chinese: 短吻帆蜥魚

Similar species

Lancetfish
Alepisaurus ferox

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).
293 open-data records from 1957 to 2018.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist