Softhead rat-tail

Malacocephalus laevis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth136–446 m
Water temperature11–29 °C
Best monthsSeptember
How commonCommon

All species

About this species

Malacocephalus laevis is a species of fish belonging to the family Macrouridae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Malacocephalus laevis”, 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: 835 records
February: 466 records
March: 48 records
April: 55 records
May: 124 records
June: 109 records
July: 276 records
August: 317 records
September: 3,125 records
October: 770 records
November: 884 records
December: 128 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 136–446 m · Deepest record: 1,331 m

0–10 m: 9 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 3 records
80–90 m: 5 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 43 records
110+ m: 6,268 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 11–29 °C

10–12 °C: 11 records
12–14 °C: 426 records
14–16 °C: 50 records
16–18 °C: 187 records
18–20 °C: 34 records
20–22 °C: 39 records
22–24 °C: 6 records
24–26 °C: 6 records
26–28 °C: 7 records
28–30 °C: 2 records

Names and classification

English: Softhead rat-tail, Armed Grenadier, Smooth Headed Rattail, Smooth Whiptail, Softhead grenadier, Softhead grenadier, Softhead Rat-tail, softhead rat-tail

Names in 2 more languages

Spanish: Abámbolo de Bajura, Pez Rata Negro
French: Grenadier barbu

Other scientific names: Macrourus laevis, Macrurus laevis, Malacocephalus (Malacocephalus) laevis

Similar species

Malacocephalus boretzi
Malacocephalus hawaiiensis
Malacocephalus luzonensis
Bollons' rattail
Coelorinchus bollonsi
Banded Whip-tail
Coelorinchus fasciatus
Innotable Whiptail
Coelorinchus innotabilis

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).
9,252 open-data records from 1843 to 2025.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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