Short-rod anglerfish

Microlophichthys microlophus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth349–1,829 m
Water temperature10–29 °C
Best monthsJune and September
How commonRare

About this species

Microlophichthys microlophus, the short-rod anglerfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Oneirodidae, the dreamers, a family of deep sea anglerfishes. This anglerfish is found in the deeper waters of the tropical and temperate oceans around the world.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Microlophichthys microlophus”, 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: 2 records
March: 4 records
April: 1 records
May: 4 records
June: 9 records
July: 1 records
August: 3 records
September: 6 records
October: 0 records
November: 0 records
December: 5 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 349–1,829 m · Deepest record: 2,150 m

0–10 m: 2 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: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 34 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 10–29 °C

8–10 °C: 2 records
10–12 °C: 0 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 3 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 16 records
24–26 °C: 5 records
26–28 °C: 7 records
28–30 °C: 3 records

Names and classification

English: Short-rod anglerfish, short-rod anglerfish

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: Koedaanko, コエダアンコウ

Other scientific names: Dolopichthys analogus, Dolopichthys exiguus, Dolopichthys implumis, Dolopichthys microlophus

Similar species

Smooth dreamer
Chaenophryne draco
Can-opener smoothdream
Chaenophryne longiceps
Spikehead dreamer
Bertella idiomorpha
Lobed Dreamer
Dolopichthys pullatus
Whalehead dreamer
Lophodolos acanthognathus
Bulbous dreamer
Oneirodes eschrichtii

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).
140 open-data records from 1925 to 2022.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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