Common lizardfish

Synodus variegatus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth1–29 m
Water temperature20–30 °C
Best monthsMay, September, and October
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Dan Schofield · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The variegated lizardfish is a lizardfish of the family Synodontidae found in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, at depths from 4 to 90 m. It can reach a maximum length of 40 cm.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Variegated lizardfish”, 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: 152 records
February: 176 records
March: 213 records
April: 243 records
May: 251 records
June: 210 records
July: 221 records
August: 243 records
September: 282 records
October: 244 records
November: 227 records
December: 174 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–29 m · Deepest record: 387 m

0–10 m: 419 records
10–20 m: 144 records
20–30 m: 86 records
30–40 m: 36 records
40–50 m: 13 records
50–60 m: 4 records
60–70 m: 3 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110+ m: 11 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C

18–20 °C: 1 records
20–22 °C: 9 records
22–24 °C: 17 records
24–26 °C: 66 records
26–28 °C: 91 records
28–30 °C: 138 records

Photos

(c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Ioannis Magouras, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Georgina Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Common lizardfish, Variegated lizardfish, common lizardfish, Engleman's Lizardfish, Fowler's Lizard Fish, Hoult's Lizardfish, Pointhead Lizardfish, Redband Lizardfish, red lizardfish, Reef Lizardfish, Scaly-cheek Lizardfish, Short-nosed Lizardfish, Two-spot Lizardfish, variegated lizardfish, Variegated Lizardfish, Engleman's lizardfish

Names in 8 more languages

German: Riff-Eidechsenfisch
Spanish: Chile de arrecife, Lagarto Escamoso, lagarto jaspeado
Filipino: Tuko
French: anoli bigarré, Anoli bigarré, Anoli d'Engleman, Poisson-lézard tacheté, Anoli d'Engleman, Dard de Rocher, Dard de rocher, Lézard varié, Lézard Varié, Poisson-lézard, Poisson-lézard bigarré, Poisson-lézard Tacheté
Japanese: Hitosujieso, ヒトスジエソ
Korean: 꽃동멸
Thai: ปลาปากคมลาย
Simplified Chinese: 杂斑狗母鱼, 狗母, 狗母梭, 花斑狗母魚, 花狗母, 雜斑狗母魚

Other scientific names: Salmo variegatus, Salmo varius, Saurida rubrotaeniata, Saurus englemani, Saurus variegatus, Synodus engelmani, Synodus englamani, Synodus englemani, Synodus variegates, Synodus varius

Similar species

banded lizardfish
Synodus dermatogenys
Lighthouse lizardfish
Synodus jaculum

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).
3,075 open-data records from 1803 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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