Herwig Slickhead
Herwigia kreffti
- Usual depth975–1,891 m
- Water temperature12–25 °C
- Best monthsJune
- How commonRare
About this species
Herwigia is a monospecific genus of deepwater maine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Alepocephalidae, the slickheads. The only species in the genus is Herwigia kreffti, or Krefft's smooth-head, a species found at depths of 1,000 to 3,200 metres in the oceans. This species grows to a length of 40 centimetres (16 in) SL.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Herwigia”, 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: 0 records
- February: 0 records
- March: 0 records
- April: 2 records
- May: 2 records
- June: 7 records
- July: 3 records
- August: 3 records
- September: 4 records
- October: 2 records
- November: 0 records
- December: 1 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 975–1,891 m · Deepest record: 2,050 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 12–25 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Herwig Slickhead, Krefft's Slickhead, Krefft's Smooth-head, Toothless Slickhead
Other scientific names: Bathylaco kreffti
Similar species
- Antipodean Slickhead
Alepocephalus antipodianus
- Brown Slickhead
Alepocephalus australis
- Bicolor Slickhead
Alepocephalus bicolor
- Blanford's naked head
Alepocephalus blanfordii
- Longfin Slickhead
Alepocephalus longiceps
- Longsnout Slickhead
Alepocephalus longirostris
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).
- 64 open-data records from 1973 to 2022.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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