Pacific hatchet fish
Argyropelecus affinis
- Usual depth0–1,999 m
- Water temperature7–29 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, February, and April
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Argyropelecus affinis is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Sternoptychidae, described by Garman in 1899, found in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Common names for this fish include Pacific hatchetfish, deepsea hatchetfish and slender hatchetfish. It inhabits the upper mesopelagic zone between 350 and 600m during the day, and between 100m and 350m during the night and is either non-migratory or performs short daily vertical migrations. They are distributed widely throughout all tropical and temperate seas. They are known for its laterally compressed body and characteristic photophores, which aid in bioluminescence. Argyropelecus affinis is closely related to Argyropelecus gigas.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Argyropelecus affinis”, 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: 193 records
- February: 140 records
- March: 107 records
- April: 206 records
- May: 68 records
- June: 50 records
- July: 109 records
- August: 60 records
- September: 38 records
- October: 72 records
- November: 68 records
- December: 24 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–1,999 m · Deepest record: 4,341 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 7–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Pacific hatchet fish, deepsea hatchetfish, Pacific hatchetfish, Slender Hatchetfish
Names in 3 more languages
- Spanish
- hacha del Pacífico, pez hacha laminado
- Japanese
- Naga-mune-eso, Nagamuneeso, ナガムネエソ
- Simplified Chinese
- 斧魚, 海洋斧魚, 銀斧, 長銀斧魚
Other scientific names: Argyropelachus affinis, Argyropelecus pacificus
Similar species
- Half-naked hatchet fish
Argyropelecus hemigymnus
- Atlantic silver hatchetfish
Argyropelecus aculeatus
- Greater silver hatchetfish
Argyropelecus gigas
- Silvery hatchetfish
Argyropelecus lychnus
- Hatchetfish
Argyropelecus olfersii
- Lowcrest hachetfish
Argyropelecus sladeni
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).
- 2,961 open-data records from 1884 to 2023.
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