Blue knifefish
Labracoglossa nitida
- Usual depth8–26 m
- Water temperature18–22 °C
- Best monthsJanuary and December
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Oscar Dove, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The blue knifefish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a member of the family Scorpididae. It is native to the Pacific Ocean waters off eastern Australia over to New Zealand, where it occurs at depths reaching from the surface to 20 m (66 ft) in inshore waters over reefs. It can reach a length of 20 cm (7.9 in), though most do not exceed 15 cm (5.9 in).
Text from the Wikipedia article “Blue knifefish”, 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: 17 records
- February: 10 records
- March: 3 records
- April: 8 records
- May: 4 records
- June: 5 records
- July: 1 records
- August: 2 records
- September: 1 records
- October: 1 records
- November: 4 records
- December: 16 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 8–26 m · Deepest record: 31.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 18–22 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Blue knifefish
Other scientific names: Labracoglossus nitida
Similar species
TakabeLabracoglossa argenteiventris
- Grey Knifefish
Bathystethus cultratus
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).
- 106 open-data records from 1973 to 2013.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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