Japanese Pineapple Fish

Monocentris japonica

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth31–236 m
Water temperature17–29 °C
Best monthsJanuary, June, and October
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Monocentris japonica, the Japanese pineapplefish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the pinecone fish family Monocentridae. It is found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific, at depths between 2–100 m (6.6–328.1 ft), where it inhabits rocky and coral reefs.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Monocentris japonica”, 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: 33 records
February: 19 records
March: 14 records
April: 23 records
May: 17 records
June: 36 records
July: 11 records
August: 17 records
September: 28 records
October: 46 records
November: 17 records
December: 12 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 31–236 m · Deepest record: 773 m

10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 8 records
30–40 m: 8 records
40–50 m: 2 records
50–60 m: 7 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 7 records
90–100 m: 3 records
100–110 m: 5 records
110–120 m: 3 records
120+ m: 85 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 17–29 °C

16–18 °C: 10 records
18–20 °C: 6 records
20–22 °C: 9 records
22–24 °C: 23 records
24–26 °C: 15 records
26–28 °C: 122 records
28–30 °C: 24 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Japanese Pineapple Fish, Japanese pineconefish, Pineconefish

Names in 2 more languages

French: Poisson ananas, Poisson pomme de pin
Japanese: Matsukasauo, マツカサウオ

Other scientific names: Gasterosteus japonicus, Monocentris carinata, Monocentris cataphracta, Monocentris japonicus, Monocentrus japonicus, Sciaena cataphracta

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).
360 open-data records from 1782 to 2013.
Species data updated October 30, 2026.

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