American Butterfish

• The juveniles live beneath the umbrella of large jellyfish, sheltered among their stinging tentacles, and feed in part on the very jellyfish that shelters them.
• It has no pelvic fins whatsoever, an uncommon trait that gives it its silhouette of a silver disc.
• The juveniles shelter beneath the bells of jellyfish, which serve them as a mobile hiding place from predators.
• It does not occur in Bermuda or the Caribbean, despite the extent of its range along the North American coast.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)

Habitat and environment

Coastal and shelf waters of the north-western Atlantic, from 0 to 200 m

Sexual maturity

Length at first maturity 12 cm

Sources consulted: FishBase (Froese & Pauly, eds.)

The pins mark the dive sites where its presence is documented.