Messmate Fish
Echiodon rendahli
- Usual depth66–750 m
- Water temperature16–21 °C
- Best monthsOctober
- How commonRare
About this species
Rendahl's messmate is a pearlfish of the family Carapidae, found in the southwest Pacific Ocean around Australia and New Zealand at depths to 60 metres (200 ft). Its length is between 10 and 12 centimetres .The larvae has a long filament on its head which bears some resemblance to a siphonophore. These fish live within sponges. The specific name honours the Swedish naturalist and artist Hialmar Rendahl who collected the specimens in the Tasman Sea which were used by Gilbert Percy Whitley to describe this species.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Rendahl's messmate”, 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: 2 records
- April: 0 records
- May: 0 records
- June: 1 records
- July: 2 records
- August: 1 records
- September: 2 records
- October: 5 records
- November: 0 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 66–750 m · Deepest record: 750 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 16–21 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Messmate Fish, Pearlfish, Rendahl's Messmatefish
Other scientific names: Carapus rendahli
Similar species
- Closefin Pearlfish
Echiodon anchipterus
- Messmate
Echiodon cryomargarites
- Star Pearlfish
Carapus mourlani
- Pinhead Pearlfish
Encheliophis boraborensis
- Graceful pearlfish
Encheliophis gracilis
- Silver pearlfish
Encheliophis homei
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).
- 22 open-data records from 1959 to 2015.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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