Crested oarfish
Lophotus lacepede
- Usual depth25–500 m
- Water temperature14–28 °C
- Best monthsJuly, September, and November
- How commonRare
About this species
The crested oarfish is a species of crestfish in the family Lophotidae. It is a marine fish ranging from waters up to 92 meters deep, but may get stranded in shallow waters.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Crested oarfish”, 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: 4 records
- February: 0 records
- March: 3 records
- April: 0 records
- May: 1 records
- June: 2 records
- July: 6 records
- August: 4 records
- September: 5 records
- October: 2 records
- November: 5 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 25–500 m · Deepest record: 500 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 14–28 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Crested oarfish, Crestfish, Unicorn fish, Crested Bandfish, crestfish, Oarfish, Unicorn Ribbonfish
Names in 2 more languages
- Spanish
- Cordunita, fleco de gallo
- French
- Lophote, Lophotes, Poisson-ruban Licorne
Other scientific names: Leptopus peregrinus, Lophotes cristatus, Lophotus cepedianus, Lophotus lacepedei
Similar species
- North Pacific crestfish
Lophotus capellei
- Crested Bandfish
Lophotus guentheri
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).
- 49 open-data records from 1809 to 2014.
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
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