Snake mackerel

Gempylus serpens

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth3–725 m
Water temperature11–29 °C
Best monthsAugust and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

The snake mackerel is the sole species of fish in the monotypic genus Gempylus, belonging to the family Gempylidae. It is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical oceans between the latitudes of 42°N and 40°S; adults are known to stray into temperate waters. It is found to a depth of 600 meters. Populations of the snake mackerel from the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific differ in vertebral count and number of first dorsal fin spines, and so may represent separate species.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Snake mackerel”, 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: 6 records
February: 24 records
March: 21 records
April: 16 records
May: 10 records
June: 25 records
July: 17 records
August: 48 records
September: 28 records
October: 32 records
November: 61 records
December: 7 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–725 m · Deepest record: 1,080 m

0–10 m: 15 records
10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 6 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 6 records
100–110 m: 6 records
110+ m: 48 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 11–29 °C

10–12 °C: 1 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 10 records
20–22 °C: 21 records
22–24 °C: 34 records
24–26 °C: 60 records
26–28 °C: 109 records
28–30 °C: 68 records

Names and classification

English: Snake mackerel, snake mackerel, Snake Mackerel

Names in 7 more languages

German: Schlangenmakrele
Spanish: Dómine Añii, dómine añil, Escolar, escolar de canal, Escolar serpiente, Macareala culebra, Scolar de canal
French: Escolier serpent
Japanese: Kurotachikamasu, クロタチカマス
Korean: 세장갈치꼬치
Thai: ปลาอินทรีเขี้ยวตัวยาว
Simplified Chinese: 帶鰆, 蛇鯖, 蛇鲭, 黑刀蛇鯖, 黑刃魣

Other scientific names: Acinacea notha, Gempylus coluber, Gempylus notha, Gempylus ophidianus, Lemnisoma thyrsitoides, Muraena compressa

Similar species

Royal escolar
Rexea prometheoides

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).
976 open-data records from 1906 to 2024.

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