bigeye cardinalfish

Epigonus robustus

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth621–1,163 m
Water temperature5–28 °C
Best monthsJanuary, May, and August
How commonOccasional

About this species

The robust cardinalfish is a species of deepwater cardinalfish found around the world in southern temperate waters at depths of from 500 to 3,000 metres. It can reach a length of 22 centimetres (8.7 in) TL.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Robust cardinalfish”, 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: 21 records
February: 8 records
March: 7 records
April: 14 records
May: 17 records
June: 6 records
July: 15 records
August: 17 records
September: 9 records
October: 12 records
November: 16 records
December: 10 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 621–1,163 m · Deepest record: 1,525 m

80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110–120 m: 0 records
120–130 m: 0 records
130–140 m: 0 records
140–150 m: 0 records
150–160 m: 0 records
160–170 m: 0 records
170–180 m: 0 records
180–190 m: 0 records
190+ m: 1,781 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–28 °C

4–6 °C: 6 records
6–8 °C: 2 records
8–10 °C: 6 records
10–12 °C: 143 records
12–14 °C: 242 records
14–16 °C: 424 records
16–18 °C: 33 records
18–20 °C: 15 records
20–22 °C: 27 records
22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 1 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: bigeye cardinalfish, Robust cardinalfish, Robust Deepsea Cardinalfish

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: マルヤセムツ

Other scientific names: Epigonus macrops, Hynnodus robustus, Parahynnodus robustus

Similar species

Pencil cardinal
Epigonus denticulatus
Big-eye
Epigonus lenimen
Bulls-eye
Epigonus telescopus
Big-eyed slender cardinal fish
Epigonus atherinoides
Epigonus bispinosus
Epigonus devaneyi

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).
1,864 open-data records from 1963 to 2018.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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