Pacific Jellynose Fish
Ateleopus japonicus
- Usual depth196–540 m
- Water temperature18–29 °C
- Best monthsJune, July, and August
- How commonRare
About this species
The pacific jellynose fish is a species of jellynose fish in the family Ateleopodidae. It can grow up to a length of 95 cm, but is more commonly found at lengths of 35 cm. There is one other species in its genus. It feeds on prawns, and is harmless to humans. It is benthic, and lives at depths from 140 to 600 meters, but it may rise up to 100 meters at night, in areas like China, Japan, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Taiwan, and Vietnam in the Indo-Pacific. It is a rare fish to encounter, and its population seems to be stable, but it may be a bycatch in fisheries.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Pacific jellynose fish”, 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: 3 records
- February: 9 records
- March: 6 records
- April: 16 records
- May: 14 records
- June: 24 records
- July: 21 records
- August: 17 records
- September: 10 records
- October: 8 records
- November: 8 records
- December: 7 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 196–540 m · Deepest record: 907.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 18–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Pacific Jellynose Fish
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Shachiburi, シャチブリ
- Simplified Chinese
- 日本軟腕魚, 日本辮魚, 軟腕魚
Other scientific names: Ateleopus natalensis, Ateleopus purpureus, Ateleopus tanabensis, Atelopus japonicus
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).
- 239 open-data records from 1909 to 2011.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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