Bulls-eye
Epigonus telescopus
- Usual depth299–912 m
- Water temperature8–21 °C
- Best monthsSeptember
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Epigonus telescopus, the black cardinal fish, is a species of deepwater cardinalfish found in most temperate oceans worldwide, at depths of between 75 and 1,200 metres though mostly between 300 and 800 metres. It can reach a length of 75 centimetres (30 in) TL though most specimens do not exceed 55 centimetres (22 in) TL. It has been reported that this species can reach an age of 104 years.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Epigonus telescopus”, 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: 29 records
- February: 13 records
- March: 13 records
- April: 38 records
- May: 109 records
- June: 46 records
- July: 16 records
- August: 100 records
- September: 1,306 records
- October: 213 records
- November: 10 records
- December: 11 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 299–912 m · Deepest record: 3,650 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 8–21 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Bulls-eye, Bigeye, Black Cardinalfish, Black Cardinal Fish, Black cardinalfish, Bulls-eye, Black Deepsea Cardinalfish, bulls-eye, Cardinalfish, Cardinal Fish, Deepsea Cardinalfish, telescope cardinal
Names in 4 more languages
- German
- Teleskopabborre
- Spanish
- Boca Negra, pez diablo, Pez diablo, Tomás
- French
- Le sonneur commun, Poisson Cardinal, sonneur commun, Sonneur commun
- Japanese
- オオヤセムツ
Other scientific names: Epigonus macrophthalmus, Pomatomus cuvieri, Pomatomus cuvierii, Pomatomus telescopium, Pomatomus telescopus
Similar species
- Pencil cardinal
Epigonus denticulatus
- Big-eye
Epigonus lenimen
- bigeye cardinalfish
Epigonus robustus
- Big-eyed slender cardinal fish
Epigonus atherinoides
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).
- 4,042 open-data records from 1974 to 2022.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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