Chinese Lantern
Othos dentex
- Usual depth9 m
- Water temperature17–21 °C
- Best monthsJuly, August, and September
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
About this species
The harlequin fish is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Anthiadidae. It is the only member of the genus Othos. It is also known commonly as the Chinese lantern, harlequin cod, harlequin rock cod and tiger cod. This species is found in the Eastern Indian Ocean and is endemic to Australian waters, in subtropical areas typically rocky reefs.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Harlequin fish”, 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: 298 records
- February: 262 records
- March: 299 records
- April: 274 records
- May: 237 records
- June: 440 records
- July: 519 records
- August: 454 records
- September: 539 records
- October: 402 records
- November: 303 records
- December: 301 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 9 m · Deepest record: 36 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 17–21 °C
Photos
(c) leonie_rennie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Chinese Lantern, Harlequin Cod, Harlequin Fish, Harlequin Rock Cod, Tiger Cod
Names in 1 more languages
- Simplified Chinese
- 犬牙帆花鮨
Other scientific names: Othos cephalotes, Plectropoma dentex, Plectropoma richardsonii
Similar species
Butterfly PerchCaesioperca lepidoptera
Barber PerchCaesioperca rasor
Longfin anthiasCaprodon longimanus
Black-arseEpinephelides armatus
Australian Half-banded SeaperchHypoplectrodes maccullochi
Banded SeaperchHypoplectrodes nigroruber
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).
- 4,248 open-data records from 1826 to 2011.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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