Scaleless dragonfish

Echiostoma barbatum

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth100–1,150 m
Water temperature9–30 °C
Best monthsApril, June, and August
How commonOccasional

About this species

Echiostoma barbatum, the threadfin dragonfish, is a species of barbeled dragonfish and is the only known species in its genus. It is widespread through tropical to temperate waters in all oceans in mid to deep waters up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). This species grows to a length of 36.8 centimetres (14.5 in) SL.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Echiostoma”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 22 records
February: 18 records
March: 9 records
April: 35 records
May: 20 records
June: 26 records
July: 9 records
August: 30 records
September: 17 records
October: 18 records
November: 16 records
December: 15 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 100–1,150 m · Deepest record: 3,500 m

10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 2 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 3 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 4 records
100–110 m: 4 records
110–120 m: 1 records
120+ m: 167 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 9–30 °C

8–10 °C: 2 records
10–12 °C: 3 records
12–14 °C: 5 records
14–16 °C: 4 records
16–18 °C: 37 records
18–20 °C: 30 records
20–22 °C: 28 records
22–24 °C: 70 records
24–26 °C: 31 records
26–28 °C: 29 records
28–30 °C: 17 records

Names and classification

English: Scaleless dragonfish, Threadfin dragonfish, scaleless dragonfish

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: pez dragón barbudo
Japanese: Murasakihoshieso, ムラサキホシエソ
Simplified Chinese: 單鬚刺巨口魚, 巨口魚

Other scientific names: Echiostoma calliobarba, Echiostoma ctenobarba, Echiostoma guentheri, Echiostoma tanneri, Echiostomias barbatum, Hyperchoristus tanneri

Similar species

Manylight fangfish
Chauliodus sloani
Pacific viperfish
Chauliodus macouni
Straightline dragonfish
Borostomias antarcticus
Pacific blackdragon
Idiacanthus antrostomus
Black dragonfish
Idiacanthus atlanticus
Ribbon sawtail fish
Idiacanthus fasciola

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).
462 open-data records from 1878 to 2015.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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