Deep-water bristlemouth

Cyclothone atraria

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth0–2,575 m
Water temperature4–29 °C
Best monthsApril
How commonOccasional

About this species

Cyclothone atraria, commonly known as the deep-water bristlemouth, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Cyclothone. It is found in the North Pacific and is considered to be a part of the most abundant fish genus. Like other species in Cyclothone, the micronektonic fish spends all its life in the deeper depths of water.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Cyclothone atraria”, 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: 5 records
February: 2 records
March: 0 records
April: 54 records
May: 10 records
June: 19 records
July: 31 records
August: 10 records
September: 23 records
October: 8 records
November: 8 records
December: 0 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–2,575 m · Deepest record: 7,356.5 m

0–10 m: 16 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 128 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 4–29 °C

2–4 °C: 1 records
4–6 °C: 7 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 21 records
10–12 °C: 49 records
12–14 °C: 35 records
14–16 °C: 3 records
16–18 °C: 21 records
18–20 °C: 4 records
20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 6 records
24–26 °C: 3 records
26–28 °C: 16 records
28–30 °C: 15 records

Names and classification

English: Deep-water bristlemouth, black bristlefish, black bristlemouth, Smalltooth Bristlemouth, Veiled Anglemouth, yellow bristlemouth

Names in 3 more languages

French: cyclothone jaune
Japanese: Onihadaka, オニハダカ
Simplified Chinese: 光魚, 黑圓罩魚

Other scientific names: Cyalothone atraria, Cyclothone pacifica

Similar species

Showy bristlemouth
Cyclothone signata
Benttooth bristlemouth
Cyclothone acclinidens
Albino anglemouth
Cyclothone alba
Spottail anglemouth
Cyclothone braueri
Veiled anglemouth
Cyclothone microdon
Bicolored bristlemouth
Cyclothone pallida

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).
726 open-data records from 1906 to 2023.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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