New Zealand Scaly-headed Triplefin
Karalepis stewarti
- Usual depth5–26 m
- Water temperature12–18 °C
- Best monthsApril and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Luca Davenport-Thomas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The scaly-headed triplefin is a triplefin, the only species in the genus Karalepis. It is endemic to New Zealand where it is found around North Island, South Island, the Three Kings Islands, Snares Island and Stewart Island. It is a nocturnal species It occurs at depths of about 5 to 30 metres, in reef areas of broken rock. The specific name honours Andy Stewart of the Department of Fishes at the National Museum of New Zealand.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Scaly-headed triplefin”, 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: 8 records
- February: 7 records
- March: 19 records
- April: 30 records
- May: 11 records
- June: 5 records
- July: 9 records
- August: 9 records
- September: 3 records
- October: 13 records
- November: 37 records
- December: 9 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 5–26 m · Deepest record: 64 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 12–18 °C
Photos
(c) Luca Davenport-Thomas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Oscar Dove, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Shaun Lee, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- New Zealand Scaly-headed Triplefin, Scaly-headed Triplefin, Scaly Headed Triplefin
Similar species
Aotearoa TriplefinBellapiscis medius
Blackthroat TriplefinEnneapterygius atrogulare
Black-cheek ThreefinEnneapterygius rufopileus
Highfin ThreefinEnneapterygius tutuilae
Common ThreefinForsterygion lapillum
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).
- 108 open-data records from 1971 to 2013.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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