Australian Pineapplefish

Cleidopus gloriamaris

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth37–138 m
Water temperature15–29 °C
Best monthsJanuary, March, and April
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Joanna Chen, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The pineapplefish also known as the mailfish, is a species of fish in the family Monocentridae, and the sole member of the genus Cleidopus. It is also known as the knightfish or the coat-of-mail fish, due to the armor-like scales covering its body, and the port-and-starboard light fish, as it has a pair of bioluminescent organs that are reminiscent of navigation lights on ships. Its specific epithet is from the Latin gloria and maris, meaning "glory of the sea".

Text from the Wikipedia article “Pineapplefish”, 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: 87 records
February: 70 records
March: 87 records
April: 89 records
May: 65 records
June: 51 records
July: 60 records
August: 68 records
September: 70 records
October: 54 records
November: 80 records
December: 71 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 37–138 m · Deepest record: 245 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 7 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 15 records
60–70 m: 8 records
70–80 m: 19 records
80–90 m: 6 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 4 records
110+ m: 13 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–29 °C

14–16 °C: 4 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 29 records
20–22 °C: 105 records
22–24 °C: 71 records
24–26 °C: 9 records
26–28 °C: 1 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Australian Pineapplefish, Coat-of-mail Fish, knightfish, Knight-fish, Luminescent pineconefish, Mailfish, Pineapple-fish, Pineapple Fish, pineconefish, Port and starboard bightfish, port and starboard light fish, Port-and-starboard Lightfish, West Australian Knight Fish

Names in 5 more languages

German: Australischer Tannenzapfenfisch
Spanish: Pez piña común
French: Poisson pomme de pin
Japanese: オーストラリアマツカサウオ
Simplified Chinese: 澳洲光頜松球魚, 澳洲光颌松球鱼, 澳洲松球魚

Similar species

Japanese Pineapple Fish
Monocentris japonica

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).
320 open-data records from 1898 to 2013.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist