Oarfish
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The oarfish occurs in tropical and temperate seas around the world.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Oarfish
- Scientific name
- Regalecus russelii
- Japanese name
- リュウグウノツカイ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Lampriformes
- Family
- Regalecidae
- Genus
- Regalecus
A deep-sea fish whose way of life is still almost unknown. It sometimes washes ashore in stormy weather.
Its long, thin body is flattened from side to side and silvery-white, with red fins.
The dorsal fin rays on top of its head are long, and its whip-like pelvic fins spread out like leaves at the tips.
Basic data
- Size
- Total length: 8 m
- Range
- Tropical and temperate seas worldwide
Where the Oarfish 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
- リュウグウノツカイ
- 简体中文
- 勒氏皇带鱼
- 繁體中文
- 皇帶魚
- 한국어
- 산갈치
- Español
- Pez remo de Russell
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 国立科学博物館 — リュウグウノツカイChecked: 2026-11-03
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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