Jack-knifefish
Amazing fact
The jack-knifefish vibrates its swim bladder inside its body to make a drum-like sound.
BIOPARC Gijón Aquarium
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The jack-knifefish vibrates its swim bladder inside its body to make a drum-like sound.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Jack-knifefish
- Scientific name
- Equetus lanceolatus
- Japanese name
- ジャックナイフフィッシュ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Sciaenidae
- Genus
- Equetus
How the Jack-knifefish lives
During the day, it usually hides in caves and recesses in the reef. At night, it searches for prey on the sea bottom. It eats polychaete worms, small crustaceans and other foods. Young fish often shelter among sea urchin spines.
BIOPARC Gijón AquariumBasic data
- Range
- Western Atlantic
Where the Jack-knifefish has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ジャックナイフフィッシュ
- 简体中文
- 矛高鳍䱛
- 繁體中文
- 矛高鰭䱛
- Español
- Pez cuchillo de Jack
- Français
- Chevalier lancier
- Deutsch
- Gebänderter Ritterfisch
- Português (Brasil)
- Bilro
- Русский
- Полосатая обиспа
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — ジャックナイフフィッシュChecked: 2026-11-04
- BIOPARC Gijón Aquarium — Jackknife fishChecked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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