Bony fish · Beryciformes · Trachichthyidae

Orange Roughy

Hoplostethus atlanticus

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

The orange roughy, or Atlantic roughy, is the species Hoplostethus atlanticus, a marine fish of the family Trachichthyidae, distributed through the eastern and north-western Atlantic, the southern Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

Weight

3.9 kg on average

Size

up to 75 cm

Lifespan

149 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Social structure

School

Gathers in coordinated schools, typical of fish.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

OceanCarnivore In schools Fish Ocean

14countries

Fun facts

It is one of the longest-lived vertebrates known: ages of up to 149 years have been determined.
It does not breed until it is 27 to 32 years old, which means populations take decades to recover from overfishing.
It was marketed as orange roughy from the 1980s onwards; its earlier name, slimehead, was thought unsellable.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bony fish)
Habitat & environment: Deep, cold water over continental slopes, ocean ridges and seamounts, between 180 and 1,800 m and usually between 400 and 900 m, at 3-9 °C
Sexual maturity: 17.7 years

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplostethus_atlanticus