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Saw-edged Perch

Niphon spinosus

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Not evaluated
  • Usual depth80–225 m
  • Water temperature20–29 °C
  • Best monthsOctober
  • How commonRare
All species

About this species

The ara, otherwise known as the saw-edged perch or the Dageumbari (다금바리) is a species of marine ray-finned fish from the monospecific genus Niphon in the monogeneric family Niphonidae. It is found in the Western Pacific Ocean from Japan south to the Philippines where it inhabits rock reefs and inshore waters with rocky sea beds. This species can grow up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) in total length. The ara was first formally described in 1828 by Georges Cuvier in the Histoire naturelle des poissons which he co-authored with Achille Valenciennes, the type locality was given as the Sea of Japan.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ara (fish)”, 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: 4 records
  • February: 0 records
  • March: 1 records
  • April: 0 records
  • May: 0 records
  • June: 1 records
  • July: 2 records
  • August: 0 records
  • September: 4 records
  • October: 8 records
  • November: 4 records
  • December: 0 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 80–225 m · Deepest record: 225 m

  • 80–90 m: 2 records
  • 90–100 m: 0 records
  • 100–110 m: 1 records
  • 110–120 m: 0 records
  • 120–130 m: 0 records
  • 130–140 m: 1 records
  • 140–150 m: 0 records
  • 150–160 m: 0 records
  • 160–170 m: 0 records
  • 170–180 m: 0 records
  • 180–190 m: 0 records
  • 190+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

  • 18–20 °C: 4 records
  • 20–22 °C: 5 records
  • 22–24 °C: 6 records
  • 24–26 °C: 1 records
  • 26–28 °C: 0 records
  • 28–30 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English
Saw-edged Perch, Sawedge Perch
Names in 4 more languages
Spanish
Ara, Robalo ara
Japanese
Ara, アラ
Korean
다금바리
Simplified Chinese
東洋鱸, 鱠仔

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).
  • 55 open-data records from 1900 to 2002.
  • Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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