Slender snipefish

Macroramphosus gracilis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth73–253 m
Water temperature14–28 °C
Best monthsOctober and November
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Bruce Deagle, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The slender snipefish or snipefish is a snipefish of the genus Macroramphosus. It is found in tropical oceans around the world at depths of 50 to 500 m. Its length is up to 15 cm (5.9 in).

Text from the Wikipedia article “Slender snipefish”, 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: 38 records
February: 48 records
March: 39 records
April: 44 records
May: 43 records
June: 11 records
July: 44 records
August: 32 records
September: 27 records
October: 102 records
November: 106 records
December: 44 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 73–253 m · Deepest record: 2,100 m

10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 5 records
30–40 m: 3 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 3 records
60–70 m: 13 records
70–80 m: 39 records
80–90 m: 16 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 3 records
110–120 m: 4 records
120+ m: 252 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 14–28 °C

12–14 °C: 2 records
14–16 °C: 18 records
16–18 °C: 84 records
18–20 °C: 174 records
20–22 °C: 174 records
22–24 °C: 76 records
24–26 °C: 15 records
26–28 °C: 3 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Slender snipefish, Little Bellows-fish, Little Bellowsfish, slender snipefish

Names in 5 more languages

German: Schlanker Schnepfenfisch
Spanish: tirador alargado, trompetero flaco
Japanese: ダイコクサギフエ
Thai: ปลาปากแตรสั้นหลังกระโดง
Simplified Chinese: 細棘長吻魚

Other scientific names: Centriscus gracilis, Centriscus japonicus, Centriscus velitaris, Macroramphosus japonicus, Macroramphosus velitaris, Macrorhamphosus gracilis, Macrorhamphosus hawaiiensis, Macrorhamphosus molleri

Similar species

Longspine snipefish
Macroramphosus scolopax
Japanese Bellowsfish
Macroramphosus sagifue
Banded Bellows-fish
Centriscops humerosus
Razorfish
Aeoliscus strigatus
Grooved razorfish
Centriscus scutatus
Speckled shrimpfish
Aeoliscus punctulatus

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).
756 open-data records from 1935 to 2018.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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