Oyster pearlfish
Onuxodon parvibrachium
- Usual depth13–299 m
- Water temperature21–30 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, May, and November
- How commonRare
About this species
Onuxodon is an Indo-Pacific genus of pearlfishes from the family Carapidae. The generic name is derived from the Greek onyx meaning "claw" and odon meaning "tooth", referring to the sharp fang like teeth of Onuxodon parvibrachium. Species in this genus are distributed from South Africa to Hawaii. They live commensally with molluscs. The three currently recognized species are:Onuxodon fowleri (J. L. B. Smith, 1955) Onuxodon margaritiferae (Rendahl, 1921) Onuxodon parvibrachium (Fowler, 1927)
Text from the Wikipedia article “Onuxodon”, 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: 2 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 2 records
- April: 2 records
- May: 3 records
- June: 1 records
- July: 0 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 0 records
- October: 1 records
- November: 3 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 13–299 m · Deepest record: 299 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 21–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Oyster pearlfish, oyster pearlfish
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Shinjukakureuo, シンジュカクレウオ
- Simplified Chinese
- 牡蠣隱魚, 短臂鈎潛魚, 短臂鈎隱魚, 隱魚
Other scientific names: Carapus parvibrachium, Onuxodon parvibranchium
Similar species
Fowler's pearlfishOnuxodon fowleri
- Bivalve Pearlfish
Onuxodon margaritiferae
- Star Pearlfish
Carapus mourlani
- Closefin Pearlfish
Echiodon anchipterus
- Messmate
Echiodon cryomargarites
- Messmate Fish
Echiodon rendahli
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).
- 46 open-data records from 1924 to 2008.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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