Ghostly seadevil

Haplophryne mollis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth0–1,646 m
Water temperature7–27 °C
Best monthsFebruary, September, and November
How commonRare

About this species

Haplophryne mollis, the ghostly seadevil or soft leftvent angler, is a species of anglerfish in the family Linophrynidae and is the only species in the genus Haplophryne. It is found in the bathypelagic and mesopelagic zones of tropical and subtropical parts of Earth's oceans at depths down to about 2,250 m (7,400 ft).

Text from the Wikipedia article “Haplophryne”, 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: 0 records
February: 10 records
March: 3 records
April: 2 records
May: 9 records
June: 8 records
July: 9 records
August: 6 records
September: 12 records
October: 3 records
November: 11 records
December: 8 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–1,646 m · Deepest record: 2,000 m

0–10 m: 9 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 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+ m: 60 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 7–27 °C

6–8 °C: 2 records
8–10 °C: 5 records
10–12 °C: 5 records
12–14 °C: 9 records
14–16 °C: 15 records
16–18 °C: 7 records
18–20 °C: 6 records
20–22 °C: 22 records
22–24 °C: 15 records
24–26 °C: 4 records
26–28 °C: 4 records

Names and classification

English: Ghostly seadevil, Soft Leafvent Angler

Names in 3 more languages

German: Tiefseeangler
Japanese: Yureionianko, ユウレイオニアンコウ
Simplified Chinese: 獨樹鬚魚

Other scientific names: Aceratias mollis, Edriolychnus macracanthus, Edriolychnus radians, Edriolychnus roulei, Edriolychnus schmidti, Edriolynchnus macracanthus, Eridolchynus schmidti, Haplophryne triregium

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).
183 open-data records from 1911 to 2011.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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