Coral Cod

Helicolenus percoides

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth68–309 m
Water temperature12–27 °C
Best monthsMay, August, and December
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Lisa Bennett · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Helicolenus percoides, the reef ocean perch, coral cod, coral perch, Jock Stewart, kuriarki, ocean perch, red gurnard perch, red gurnard scorpionfish, red ocean perch, red perch, red rock perch, scarpee or sea perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, part of the family Scorpaenidae. It is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Helicolenus percoides”, 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: 140 records
February: 172 records
March: 202 records
April: 249 records
May: 362 records
June: 87 records
July: 265 records
August: 286 records
September: 191 records
October: 195 records
November: 205 records
December: 406 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 68–309 m · Deepest record: 772 m

0–10 m: 7 records
10–20 m: 10 records
20–30 m: 30 records
30–40 m: 25 records
40–50 m: 49 records
50–60 m: 66 records
60–70 m: 76 records
70–80 m: 148 records
80–90 m: 119 records
90–100 m: 77 records
100–110 m: 119 records
110+ m: 1,756 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 12–27 °C

10–12 °C: 2 records
12–14 °C: 18 records
14–16 °C: 31 records
16–18 °C: 51 records
18–20 °C: 53 records
20–22 °C: 38 records
22–24 °C: 3 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Lisa Bennett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) nbasargin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) M Rutherford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Joe Dillon, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Genevieve Early, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Christopher Stephens, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Coral Cod, Coral Perch, Jock stewart, Kuriarki, Ocean Perch, Red Gurnard Perch, Red Gurnard Scorpionfish, Red Ocean Perch, Red Perch, Red Rock Perch, Reef Ocean Perch, Scarpee, sea perch

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: ミナミユメカサゴ

Other scientific names: Helicolenus alporti, Sebastes alporti, Sebastes percoides

Similar species

Blackbelly rosefish
Helicolenus dactylopterus
Bigeye Ocean Perch
Helicolenus barathri
Hilgendorf's rosefish
Helicolenus hilgendorfii
Hozukius emblemarius

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).
3,033 open-data records from 1859 to 2020.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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