Butterfly kingfish

Gasterochisma melampus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth30–345 m
Water temperature7–26 °C
Best monthsJune, August, and October
How commonRare

About this species

The butterfly kingfish is an ocean-dwelling ray-finned bony fish in the mackerel family, Scombridae – a family which it shares with the tunas, mackerels, Spanish mackerels, and bonitos. It, however, represents a lineage distinct from all other scombrids and has therefore been placed in its own genus Gasterochisma and subfamily Gasterochismatinae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Butterfly kingfish”, 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: 1 records
February: 2 records
March: 2 records
April: 1 records
May: 1 records
June: 3 records
July: 1 records
August: 3 records
September: 2 records
October: 5 records
November: 1 records
December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 30–345 m · Deepest record: 345 m

30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 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+ m: 4 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 7–26 °C

6–8 °C: 3 records
8–10 °C: 2 records
10–12 °C: 0 records
12–14 °C: 9 records
14–16 °C: 19 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 4 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 6 records
24–26 °C: 2 records

Names and classification

English: Butterfly kingfish, bigscaled mackerel, Big-scaled Mackerel, butterfly kingfish, Butterfly Mackerel, Butterfly Tuna, Scaly Tuna

Names in 5 more languages

German: Großschuppenmakrele
Spanish: Atún Argentino, atún chauchera, Gastoro, Pez Chauchera
French: Thon papillon
Japanese: Urokomaguro, ウロコマグロ
Simplified Chinese: 腹翼鯖

Other scientific names: Chenogaster holmbergi, Gastrochisma boulengeri, Lepidothynnus huttoni, Lepidothynnus huttonii

Similar species

Wahoo
Acanthocybium solandri
Bonito
Auxis rochei
Frigate mackerel
Auxis thazard
Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel
Scomberomorus commerson
Allison tuna
Thunnus albacares
Slender tuna
Allothunnus fallai

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).
58 open-data records from 1906 to 2022.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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