deepsea whiptail

Lepidorhynchus denticulatus

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth358–883 m
Water temperature8–22 °C
Best monthsMay, August, and October
How commonCommon

About this species

The thorntooth grenadier or javelin fish, Lepidorhynchus denticulatus, is a rattail, the only member of the genus Lepidorhynchus, found around southern Australia and New Zealand, at depths of between 200 and 1,000 m. Its length is between 20 and 55 cm.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Thorntooth grenadier”, 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: 13 records
February: 39 records
March: 29 records
April: 76 records
May: 97 records
June: 83 records
July: 92 records
August: 98 records
September: 55 records
October: 102 records
November: 71 records
December: 83 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 358–883 m · Deepest record: 3,821.5 m

10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 2 records
90–100 m: 3 records
100–110 m: 7 records
110–120 m: 11 records
120+ m: 15,976 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–22 °C

6–8 °C: 62 records
8–10 °C: 155 records
10–12 °C: 108 records
12–14 °C: 276 records
14–16 °C: 215 records
16–18 °C: 76 records
18–20 °C: 28 records
20–22 °C: 12 records

Names and classification

English: deepsea whiptail, javelinfish, thorntooth grenadier, Toothed Rattail, toothed whiptail, Toothed Whip-tail

Other scientific names: Coryphaenoides denticulatus, Macrurus denticulatus, Optonurus denticulatus

Similar species

Bollons' rattail
Coelorinchus bollonsi
Banded Whip-tail
Coelorinchus fasciatus
Innotable Whiptail
Coelorinchus innotabilis
Serrulate Rattail
Coryphaenoides serrulatus
Four-rayed Rattail
Coryphaenoides subserrulatus
Ridge scaled rattail
Macrourus carinatus

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).
16,803 open-data records from 1874 to 2018.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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