striped ponyfish

Aurigequula fasciata

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth3–100 m
Water temperature23–30 °C
Best monthsAugust, September, and November
How commonRare

About this species

The striped ponyfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a ponyfish from the family Leiognathidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, from the Red Sea and the eastern coast of Africa to Fiji and Samoa, where it occurs in coastal marine and brackish waters. It occurs at depths of from 20 to 50 metres. It is a predator upon smaller fishes, small crustaceans and polychaete worms. This species grows to a length of 21 centimetres (8.3 in) TL though most do not exceed 17 centimetres (6.7 in) TL. It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries. This species is the only known member of its genus.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Striped ponyfish”, 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: 8 records
February: 4 records
March: 4 records
April: 10 records
May: 7 records
June: 15 records
July: 13 records
August: 17 records
September: 23 records
October: 7 records
November: 22 records
December: 12 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–100 m · Deepest record: 135 m

0–10 m: 11 records
10–20 m: 3 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 5 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 3 records
70–80 m: 13 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110+ m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C

22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 14 records
26–28 °C: 38 records
28–30 °C: 89 records

Names and classification

English: striped ponyfish, Threadfin Ponyfish

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: Shimahiiragi, シマヒイラギ

Other scientific names: Aurigequula fasciatus, Clupea fasciata, Equula asina, Equula cara, Equula fasciata, Equula filigera, Equula serrulifera, Leiognathus fasciatus

Similar species

Aurigequula longispinis
Long-spined Pony-fish
Equulites leuciscus
Orangefin ponyfish
Photopectoralis bindus
pugnose ponyfish
Deveximentum insidiator
Elongate Ponyfish
Equulites elongatus
Black-tipped Pony-fish
Eubleekeria splendens

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).
411 open-data records from 1902 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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