Prickly gurnard

Lepidotrigla faurei

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth40–231 m
Water temperature22–28 °C
Best monthsMay and August
How commonRare

About this species

Epinephelus is a genus of groupers. They are predatory fish, largely associated with reefs, and are found in tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world. They are important target species for fisheries.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Epinephelus”, 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: 0 records
March: 3 records
April: 0 records
May: 6 records
June: 1 records
July: 1 records
August: 5 records
September: 0 records
October: 1 records
November: 3 records
December: 1 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 40–231 m · Deepest record: 253 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 6 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 9 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–28 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 10 records
24–26 °C: 6 records
26–28 °C: 6 records

Names and classification

English: Prickly gurnard, prickly gurnard, scalybreast gurnard

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: Cabete escamudo
French: Grondin armure
Thai: ปลาครีบนำทาง

Other scientific names: Lepidotrigla faueri, Lepidotrigla natalensis, Lepidotrigla stigmapteron

Similar species

Scaly gurnard
Lepidotrigla brachyoptera
Australian spiny gurnard
Lepidotrigla papilio
Bight Gurnard
Lepidotrigla vanessa
Lepidotrigla alata
Eye Gurnard
Lepidotrigla argus
Belalang
Lepidotrigla japonica

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).
85 open-data records from 1963 to 2010.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist