Beardie

Lotella rhacina

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth4–110 m
Water temperature8–23 °C
Best monthsApril
How commonOccasional

About this species

The rock cod is a temperate fish found off the coasts of southeastern Australia, Tasmania, the Great Australian Bight and northwards up the southwestern Australia coasts. They are also found around the coasts of New Zealand and California. They belong to the family Moridae and are not related to the true cods. They are also known as beardie in Australia.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Rock cod”, 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: 16 records
February: 28 records
March: 36 records
April: 93 records
May: 38 records
June: 22 records
July: 5 records
August: 6 records
September: 10 records
October: 16 records
November: 15 records
December: 11 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–110 m · Deepest record: 1,255 m

0–10 m: 104 records
10–20 m: 58 records
20–30 m: 40 records
30–40 m: 18 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 26 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–23 °C

6–8 °C: 4 records
8–10 °C: 3 records
10–12 °C: 1 records
12–14 °C: 29 records
14–16 °C: 56 records
16–18 °C: 94 records
18–20 °C: 72 records
20–22 °C: 109 records
22–24 °C: 14 records

Names and classification

English: Beardie, Beardie Cod, Kelp Rock Cod, Largetooth Beardie, Ling, rock-cod, Rock Cod, Small-scaled Rock Cod

Other scientific names: Gadum rhacinum, Gadus rhacinus, Lotella callarias, Lotella fuliginosa, Lotella limbata, Lotella macleayi, Lotella marginata, Lotella rhacinus, Lotella swanii

Similar species

Beardie
Lotella phycis
Blackcod
Antimora rostrata
Dainty mora
Halargyreus johnsonii
Common mora
Mora moro
ahuru
Auchenoceros punctatus
Long-finned Cod
Lepidion microcephalus

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).
989 open-data records from 1898 to 2023.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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