Australian Tusk

Dannevigia tusca

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth167–500 m
Water temperature13–28 °C
Best monthsMay, November, and December
How commonRare

About this species

The Australian tusk, Dannevigia tusca, is a species of cusk-eel found in the waters off of the Great Australian Bight occasionally to Bass Strait at depths from 115 to 400 m. This species grows to 56 cm (22 in) in total length. It is the only known member of its genus and the generic name honours Harold Christian Dannevig (1860-1914) who was the Director of Fisheries for the Australian government, who collected type specimen and who was later lost at sea when the fisheries research vessel he was working on vanished without a trace.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Australian tusk”, 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: 0 records
February: 1 records
March: 0 records
April: 0 records
May: 3 records
June: 1 records
July: 2 records
August: 1 records
September: 1 records
October: 0 records
November: 5 records
December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 167–500 m · Deepest record: 500 m

130–140 m: 1 records
140–150 m: 1 records
150–160 m: 0 records
160–170 m: 3 records
170–180 m: 1 records
180–190 m: 0 records
190–200 m: 1 records
200–210 m: 1 records
210–220 m: 0 records
220–230 m: 0 records
230–240 m: 0 records
240+ m: 22 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 13–28 °C

12–14 °C: 10 records
14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 4 records
18–20 °C: 12 records
20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 3 records

Names and classification

English: Australian Tusk, Tusk, Tuskfish

Similar species

Pink cusk-eel
Genypterus blacodes
Ling
Genypterus tigerinus
Digitate Cusk Eel
Dicrolene introniger
Golden Cusk
Sirembo imberbis
armored weaselfish
Hoplobrotula armata
Alcock's Cusk-eel
Alcockia rostrata

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).
42 open-data records from 1960 to 2015.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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