Thorny tinselfish

Grammicolepis brachiusculus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth366–708 m
Water temperature10–28 °C
Best monthsJuly and September
How commonRare

About this species

Grammicolepis is a monotypic genus of tinselfish, family Grammicolepididae. The only species is Grammicolepis brachiusculus, the thorny tinselfish or deepscale dory. It is found in deep oceanic waters at depths from 250 to 1,026 metres, but usually between 500 and 700 m. It is known from many areas off Australia and occasionally caught as by-catch. Records from northwest Europe include one specimen caught off Scotland in 2004 and one off County Kerry, Ireland in 2010.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Grammicolepis”, 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: 3 records
February: 7 records
March: 8 records
April: 10 records
May: 18 records
June: 19 records
July: 33 records
August: 13 records
September: 20 records
October: 15 records
November: 9 records
December: 6 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 366–708 m · Deepest record: 1,000 m

120–130 m: 1 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
190–200 m: 0 records
200–210 m: 0 records
210–220 m: 1 records
220–230 m: 0 records
230+ m: 127 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 10–28 °C

8–10 °C: 2 records
10–12 °C: 17 records
12–14 °C: 1 records
14–16 °C: 4 records
16–18 °C: 3 records
18–20 °C: 17 records
20–22 °C: 37 records
22–24 °C: 29 records
24–26 °C: 20 records
26–28 °C: 19 records
28–30 °C: 29 records

Names and classification

English: Thorny tinselfish, Deepscale dory, thorny tinselfish

Names in 4 more languages

Spanish: oropel, Palometa oropel, Pez oropel espinoso
French: Gramolette, palissade à épines plates
Japanese: Ohishimatodai, オオヒシマトウダイ
Simplified Chinese: 斑線菱鯛, 斑菱的鯛, 線鱗鯛

Other scientific names: Daramattus americanus, Daramattus armatus, Daramattus barnardi, Grammocolepis brachiosculus, Vesposus egregius, Xenolepidichthys americanus

Similar species

Spotted tinselfish
Xenolepidichthys dalgleishi
Dwarf Dory
Macrurocyttus acanthopodus

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).
246 open-data records from 1954 to 2019.
Species data updated November 3, 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