Blue Hottentot

Pachymetopon aeneum

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth32–89 m
Water temperature16–25 °C
Best monthsJune, July, and August
How commonCommon

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

About this species

Pachymetopon aeneum, the blue hottentot, is a species of marine demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family which includes the seabreams and porgies. It is endemic to the south and east coasts of South Africa.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Pachymetopon aeneum”, 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: 1,250 records
February: 1,097 records
March: 1,257 records
April: 1,276 records
May: 1,403 records
June: 1,426 records
July: 1,508 records
August: 1,454 records
September: 1,253 records
October: 915 records
November: 914 records
December: 1,055 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 32–89 m · Deepest record: 284 m

10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 3 records
30–40 m: 5 records
40–50 m: 10 records
50–60 m: 4 records
60–70 m: 8 records
70–80 m: 11 records
80–90 m: 21 records
90–100 m: 3 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110–120 m: 1 records
120+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 16–25 °C

14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 45 records
18–20 °C: 103 records
20–22 °C: 163 records
22–24 °C: 679 records
24–26 °C: 2 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Blue Hottentot, Copper Bream

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: Hotentote Azul
French: Hottentot Bleu
Simplified Chinese: 藍切齒鯛

Other scientific names: Cantharus aeneus, Cantharus natalensis, Cantharus simus

Similar species

Bronze seabream
Pachymetopon grande
Australian Seabream
Acanthopagrus australis
Santer seabream
Cheimerius nufar
Englishman seabream
Chrysoblephus anglicus
Dageraad
Chrysoblephus cristiceps
Miss Lucy
Chrysoblephus gibbiceps

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).
14,805 open-data records from 1979 to 2015.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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