Common mora

Mora moro

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth321–929 m
Water temperature8–24 °C
Best monthsSeptember
How commonCommon

About this species

Mora moro, the common mora, is a deep-sea fish, the only species in the genus Mora. It is found worldwide in temperate seas, at depths of between 300 and 2,500 m. Its length is up to about 80 cm. Other names in English include goodly-eyed cod, googly-eyed cod, and ribaldo.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Mora moro”, 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: 13 records
February: 19 records
March: 32 records
April: 98 records
May: 239 records
June: 167 records
July: 33 records
August: 157 records
September: 1,867 records
October: 449 records
November: 66 records
December: 69 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 321–929 m · Deepest record: 3,650 m

10–20 m: 1 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
110–120 m: 0 records
120+ m: 10,967 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–24 °C

6–8 °C: 12 records
8–10 °C: 67 records
10–12 °C: 58 records
12–14 °C: 341 records
14–16 °C: 215 records
16–18 °C: 123 records
18–20 °C: 46 records
20–22 °C: 8 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: Common mora, common mora, deepsea cod, Ghost Cod, Goggle-eyed Cod, Goodly-eyed Cod, googly-eyed cod, Mollera Moranella, Mora, Morid Cod, Ribaldo

Names in 3 more languages

German: Tiefseedorsch
Spanish: Merluza Canaria, mollera moranella, Mollera moranella, Mora
French: Moro, moro commun, Moro commun

Other scientific names: Asellus canariensis, Gadus moro, Mora dannevigi, Mora mediterranea, Mora mora, Mora pacifica

Similar species

Blackcod
Antimora rostrata
Dainty mora
Halargyreus johnsonii
ahuru
Auchenoceros punctatus
Long-finned Cod
Lepidion microcephalus
Finescale mora
Antimora microlepis
Beardie
Lotella rhacina

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).
13,528 open-data records from 1913 to 2024.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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