Rough lanternfish

Electrona subaspera

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth10–609 m
Water temperature-1–27 °C
Best monthsFebruary, June, and December
How commonOccasional

About this species

Electrona subaspera, also known as the rough lanternfish, is a marine, mesopelagic fish. This species is usually found between 0–200 metres (0–656 ft) at night. It occurs circumglobally between the subtropical convergence and the Antarctic polar front, in the southern Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Electrona subaspera”, 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: 45 records
February: 92 records
March: 50 records
April: 52 records
May: 56 records
June: 65 records
July: 17 records
August: 7 records
September: 20 records
October: 4 records
November: 7 records
December: 57 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 10–609 m · Deepest record: 3,208 m

0–10 m: 20 records
10–20 m: 51 records
20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 5 records
40–50 m: 9 records
50–60 m: 57 records
60–70 m: 6 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 6 records
110+ m: 278 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -1–27 °C

-2–0 °C: 5 records
0–2 °C: 7 records
2–4 °C: 314 records
4–6 °C: 33 records
6–8 °C: 48 records
8–10 °C: 59 records
10–12 °C: 14 records
12–14 °C: 10 records
14–16 °C: 3 records
16–18 °C: 3 records
18–20 °C: 2 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 5 records

Names and classification

English: Rough lanternfish

Names in 1 more languages

French: Lanternule sub-polaire

Other scientific names: Electrona subasper, Myctophum megalops, Scopelus stellatus, Scopelus subasper

Similar species

Electric lantern fish
Electrona risso
Carlsberg's Lanternfish
Electrona carlsbergi
Belted lanternfish
Electrona paucirastra
Warming's lantern fish
Ceratoscopelus warmingii
Dogtooth lampfish
Ceratoscopelus townsendi
Atlantic Lanternfish
Diogenichthys atlanticus

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).
678 open-data records from 1926 to 2020.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist