Pennant Lantern-fish

Maurolicus australis

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth83–695 m
Water temperature8–25 °C
Best monthsApril, August, and October
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Thomas Linley, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Maurolicus australis, commonly known as the pennant pearlside, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Maurolicus. It lives in deep-water marine environments off New Zealand and Southern Australia. It has 33-34 vertebrae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Maurolicus australis”, 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: 0 records
February: 4 records
March: 0 records
April: 7 records
May: 3 records
June: 4 records
July: 5 records
August: 7 records
September: 1 records
October: 6 records
November: 1 records
December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 83–695 m · Deepest record: 1,433 m

20–30 m: 3 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 2 records
50–60 m: 3 records
60–70 m: 3 records
70–80 m: 5 records
80–90 m: 4 records
90–100 m: 5 records
100–110 m: 4 records
110–120 m: 3 records
120–130 m: 4 records
130+ m: 143 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–25 °C

6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 11 records
10–12 °C: 25 records
12–14 °C: 62 records
14–16 °C: 40 records
16–18 °C: 39 records
18–20 °C: 6 records
20–22 °C: 8 records
22–24 °C: 2 records
24–26 °C: 2 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Pennant Lantern-fish, Pennant Lanternfish, Pennant Pearlside

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: Kyurieso, キュウリエソ

Other scientific names: Triarcus australis

Similar species

Muller's pearlsides
Maurolicus muelleri
North Pacific lightfish
Maurolicus japonicus
Javan Pearlside
Maurolicus javanicus
Half-naked hatchet fish
Argyropelecus hemigymnus
Atlantic silver hatchetfish
Argyropelecus aculeatus
Pacific hatchet fish
Argyropelecus affinis

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).
321 open-data records from 1961 to 2017.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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