Spiny lantern fish
Dasyscopelus spinosus
- Usual depth37–2,000 m
- Water temperature11–30 °C
- Best monthsJune, October, and December
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Dasyscopelus spinosus, the spiny lanternfish, is a species of lanternfish. It occurs in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. It can grow to 9 cm (3.5 in) standard length.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Dasyscopelus spinosus”, 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: 13 records
- February: 33 records
- March: 14 records
- April: 12 records
- May: 31 records
- June: 34 records
- July: 22 records
- August: 7 records
- September: 28 records
- October: 45 records
- November: 20 records
- December: 42 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 37–2,000 m · Deepest record: 5,029.2 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 11–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Spiny lantern fish
Names in 1 more languages
- Japanese
- Ibarahadaka, イバラハダカ
Other scientific names: Myctophum spinosum, Myctophum spinosus, Scopelus cuvieri, Scopelus spinosus
Similar species
Warming's lantern fishCeratoscopelus warmingii
- Spinycheek lanternfish
Benthosema fibulatum
- Garman’s lanternfish
Diaphus garmani
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).
- 329 open-data records from 1867 to 2023.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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