Bight Dory

Cyttus traversi

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth333–681 m
Water temperature8–21 °C
Best monthsJune, July, and October
How commonCommon

About this species

The king dory or lookdown dory is a Dory, in the genus Cyttus, found around South Africa, southern Australia, and New Zealand, over the continental shelf at depths of between 200 and 800 m. Its length is between 20 and 40 cm.

Text from the Wikipedia article “King dory”, 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: 43 records
February: 24 records
March: 16 records
April: 29 records
May: 41 records
June: 47 records
July: 56 records
August: 38 records
September: 39 records
October: 55 records
November: 38 records
December: 27 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 333–681 m · Deepest record: 3,821.5 m

10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 2 records
50–60 m: 3 records
60–70 m: 6 records
70–80 m: 15 records
80–90 m: 12 records
90–100 m: 6 records
100–110 m: 12 records
110–120 m: 15 records
120+ m: 8,202 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–21 °C

6–8 °C: 21 records
8–10 °C: 136 records
10–12 °C: 88 records
12–14 °C: 379 records
14–16 °C: 185 records
16–18 °C: 57 records
18–20 °C: 27 records
20–22 °C: 15 records

Names and classification

English: Bight Dory, horsehead, King Dory, Lookdown Dory, Mcculloch's Dory, Shadow Dory

Names in 2 more languages

Spanish: San Pedro rey
Japanese: ギンマトウ

Other scientific names: Cyttoides jacksoni, Cyttoidops mccullochi, Cyttus mccullochi, Cyttus ventralis

Similar species

Australian Silver Dory
Cyttus australis
Dory
Cyttus novaezealandiae

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).
9,031 open-data records from 1914 to 2018.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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