Bigscale deepsea smelt

Melanolagus bericoides

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth137–1,502 m
Water temperature6–29 °C
Best monthsAugust
How commonOccasional

About this species

Melanolagus bericoides is a species of deep-sea smelt, found in oceans such as the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. It is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical oceans to a depth of 1,700 m (5,600 ft), and the species grows to a length of 20 cm (7.9 in). Its original name is Scopelus bericoides Borodin 1929 and it belongs to the family Melanolagus Kobyliansky, 1986.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Melanolagus”, 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: 14 records
February: 24 records
March: 18 records
April: 21 records
May: 19 records
June: 48 records
July: 38 records
August: 190 records
September: 20 records
October: 16 records
November: 12 records
December: 20 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 137–1,502 m · Deepest record: 3,321.5 m

0–10 m: 7 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 2 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 4 records
100–110 m: 3 records
110+ m: 271 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 6–29 °C

4–6 °C: 1 records
6–8 °C: 2 records
8–10 °C: 20 records
10–12 °C: 227 records
12–14 °C: 52 records
14–16 °C: 61 records
16–18 °C: 59 records
18–20 °C: 37 records
20–22 °C: 32 records
22–24 °C: 23 records
24–26 °C: 12 records
26–28 °C: 17 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: Bigscale deepsea smelt, deep sea smelt, deep-sea smelt

Names in 3 more languages

French: Garcette réticulée
Japanese: Nettaisokoiwashi, ネッタイソコイワシ
Simplified Chinese: 兔鮭, 黑淵鮭

Other scientific names: Bathylagus bericoides, Bathylagus microcephalus, Melamphaes bericoides, Scopelus bericoides

Similar species

Snubnose Blacksmelt
Bathylagoides wesethi
Northern smoothtongue
Leuroglossus schmidti
Eared blacksmelt
Lipolagus ochotensis
Antarctic Big-eyed Smelt
Bathylagus antarcticus
Slender blacksmelt
Bathylagus pacificus
Longsnout blacksmelt
Dolicholagus longirostris

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).
850 open-data records from 1926 to 2023.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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