Barrelfish

Hyperoglyphe perciformis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth36–465 m
Water temperature5–27 °C
Best monthsJuly
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) James-LaFontaine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Hyperoglyphe perciformis, the barrelfish is a primarily bathypelagic species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Centrolophidae. The barrelfish is found in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. Despite being in the medusafish family, the barrelfish does not associate with jellyfish or other medusae. It is considered a deep-water gamefish.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Hyperoglyphe perciformis”, 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: 1 records
March: 7 records
April: 4 records
May: 4 records
June: 4 records
July: 27 records
August: 12 records
September: 6 records
October: 8 records
November: 2 records
December: 0 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 36–465 m · Deepest record: 2,381.5 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 18 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–27 °C

4–6 °C: 2 records
6–8 °C: 3 records
8–10 °C: 12 records
10–12 °C: 26 records
12–14 °C: 13 records
14–16 °C: 7 records
16–18 °C: 12 records
18–20 °C: 9 records
20–22 °C: 5 records
22–24 °C: 2 records
24–26 °C: 6 records
26–28 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: Barrelfish, barrelfish, Black Pilot-fish, Driftfish

Names in 2 more languages

Spanish: Rufo Derivante
French: Centrolophe épineux, Rouffe des épaves, pompile d’Amérique, Rouffe des Epaves, Rouffe des épaves

Other scientific names: Coryphaena perciformis, Hyperoglyphe perciformes, Palinurichthyes perciformes, Palinurichthys perciformis

Similar species

Antarctic butterfish
Hyperoglyphe antarctica
Japanese butterfish
Hyperoglyphe japonica
Black fish
Centrolophus niger
Medusafish
Icichthys lockingtoni
Southern driftfish
Icichthys australis

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).
155 open-data records from 1870 to 2020.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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