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Bearded Hardyhead

Atherion elymus

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth1–6 m
  • Water temperature18–30 °C
  • Best monthsJuly, September, and October
  • How commonRare
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About this species

Atherion elymus, the bearded silverside or pickleface hardyhead, is a species of silverside from the family Atherionidae. It is found in the western Pacific Ocean.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Atherion elymus”, 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: 1 records
  • February: 7 records
  • March: 4 records
  • April: 5 records
  • May: 5 records
  • June: 7 records
  • July: 9 records
  • August: 4 records
  • September: 13 records
  • October: 11 records
  • November: 3 records
  • December: 2 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–6 m · Deepest record: 35 m

  • 0–10 m: 50 records
  • 10–20 m: 3 records
  • 20–30 m: 0 records
  • 30–40 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 18–30 °C

  • 18–20 °C: 10 records
  • 20–22 °C: 8 records
  • 22–24 °C: 1 records
  • 24–26 °C: 12 records
  • 26–28 °C: 12 records
  • 28–30 °C: 34 records

Names and classification

English
Bearded Hardyhead, Bearded silverside, Japanese Silverside, Pickleface Hardyhead, Pickleface Silverside, Prickleface Silverside
Names in 4 more languages
French
Poisson d'argent, Poisson d'argent, Prêtre, Prêtre
Japanese
Mugi-iwashi, Mugiiwashi, ムギイワシ
Korean
밀멸
Simplified Chinese
糙頭小銀漢魚, 糙頭細銀漢魚, 鱙仔, 麥銀漢魚

Similar species

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).
  • 264 open-data records from 1900 to 2016.
  • Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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