Blackfin Roughy
Hoplostethus melanopus
- Usual depth635–1,033 m
- Water temperature14–29 °C
- Best monthsDecember
- How commonRare
About this species
The smallscale slimehead is a deepwater fish of the family Trachichthyidae. It lives on the continental shelf at a depths of 400–914 m (1,312–2,999 ft). It can reach sizes of up to 25.0 cm (9.8 in) TL. It is a brownish-grey color with blackish fins. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans along the coasts of South Africa, Somalia, the United Arab Emirates, Madagascar, Japan, Indonesia, and Namibia.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Smallscale slimehead”, 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: 5 records
- March: 5 records
- April: 9 records
- May: 7 records
- June: 5 records
- July: 3 records
- August: 10 records
- September: 7 records
- October: 4 records
- November: 7 records
- December: 20 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 635–1,033 m · Deepest record: 1,129 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 14–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Blackfin Roughy, Smallscale Sawbelly, Smallscale Slimehead
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Kurohiuchi, クロヒウチ
- Simplified Chinese
- 燧鯛, 黑首燧鯛, 黑首胸棘鯛, 黑首胸燧鯛
Other scientific names: Hoplostethus natalensis, Leiogaster melanopus
Similar species
- Western Pacific Roughy
Hoplostethus japonicus
- Blackfin Roughy
Hoplostethus melanopterus
- Big roughy
Gephyroberyx darwinii
- Philippine Luminous Roughy
Aulotrachichthys latus
- Big Roughy
Gephyroberyx japonicus
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).
- 180 open-data records from 1906 to 2014.
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