Lancetfish

Alepisaurus ferox

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth73–1,372 m
Water temperature5–29 °C
Best monthsApril, May, and June
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

About this species

Alepisaurus ferox, also known as the long snouted lancetfish, longnose lancetfish, or cannibal fish, is a species of lancetfish found in the ocean depths down to 1,830 m (6,000 ft). This species grows to 215 cm (85 in) in total length and a weight of 9 kg (20 lb).

Text from the Wikipedia article “Alepisaurus ferox”, 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: 11 records
February: 33 records
March: 47 records
April: 77 records
May: 72 records
June: 62 records
July: 47 records
August: 43 records
September: 42 records
October: 22 records
November: 14 records
December: 8 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 73–1,372 m · Deepest record: 3,803.9 m

0–10 m: 17 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 3 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 178 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–29 °C

4–6 °C: 66 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 1 records
10–12 °C: 4 records
12–14 °C: 11 records
14–16 °C: 14 records
16–18 °C: 21 records
18–20 °C: 16 records
20–22 °C: 22 records
22–24 °C: 26 records
24–26 °C: 42 records
26–28 °C: 399 records
28–30 °C: 245 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Lancetfish, Long snouted lancetfish, Longnose lancetfish, Day Sarpon, Handsaw-fish, Handsaw Fish, lancetfish, longnose lancetfish, Longsnouted Lancetfish, Long snouted lancetfish, Lancetfish, Longsnout Lancetfish, Pacific Lancetfish, Wolffish

Names in 7 more languages

German: Lanzenfisch
Spanish: Conejo, conejo de lo alto, Lanzon, Lanzón Nariz Larga, lanzón picudo, Lanzón picudo
French: Cavalo feroce, cavalo féroce, Cavalo Ocelle, Lancier Longnez, Lancier long-nez, Cavalo féroce, Cavalo ocelle
Japanese: Mizuo, Mizu-uo, ミズウオ
Korean: 돛란도어
Thai: ปลาเขี้ยวกาง
Simplified Chinese: 北方帆蜥魚, 太平洋帆蜥魚, 帆蜥魚, 長吻帆蜥魚

Other scientific names: Alepidosaurus aesculapius, Alepidosaurus borealis, Alepidosaurus poeyi, Alepidosaurus serra, Alepisaurus altivelis, Alepisaurus azureus, Alepisaurus borealis, Alepisaurus richardsonii, Plagyodus aesculapius, Plagyodus borealis, Plagyodus ferox

Similar species

Shortnose lancetfish
Alepisaurus brevirostris

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).
4,436 open-data records from 1833 to 2016.
Species data updated October 31, 2026.

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