big roughy
Gephyroberyx darwinii (Johnson, 1866)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Darwin's Roughy (Gephyroberyx darwinii) in Honduras
GayleIsTired · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Gephyroberyx darwinii, the big roughy or Darwin's slimehead, is a species of fish in the slimehead family found widely in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans. This deep-sea species reaches a length of 60 cm (2.0 ft) and is mainly found at depths of 200 to 500 m (660–1,640 ft), but has been recorded between 9 and 1,210 m (30–3,970 ft). Based on broadly overlapping morphological features it sometimes (e.g., by IUCN) includes G. japonicus as a synonym. Typical of Trachichthyidae, G. darwinii are laterally compressed, with a deep body, and have mucous-filled cavities within their heads. They possess large mouths with teeth on the vomer and palatine, large spines on their opercular bones, a ventral keel bearing robust scutes, and a forked tail. The species tends to be reddish in color.
Wikipedia contributors, Gephyroberyx darwinii; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:51:02.235058+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gephyroberyx darwinii (Johnson, 1866)
- Name authority
- (Johnson, 1866)
- Common name
- big roughy
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Trachichthyiformes
- Family
- Trachichthyidae
- Genus
- Gephyroberyx
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderTrachichthyiformes
- familyTrachichthyidae Bleeker, 1856
- genusGephyroberyx Boulenger, 1902
- speciesGephyroberyx darwinii (Johnson, 1866)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gephyroberyx. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Gephyroberyx japonicus (Döderlein, 1883) | TrachichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gephyroberys darwinii (Johnson, 1866) (Johnson, 1866) | synonym |
| Gephyroberyx philippinus Fowler, 1938 Fowler, 1938 | synonym |
| Gephyroberyx robustus Danil'chenko, 1960 Danil'chenko, 1960 | synonym |
| Trachichthys darwini Johnson, 1866 Johnson, 1866 | synonym |
| Gephyroberyx darwini (Johnson, 1866) (Johnson, 1866) | synonym |
| Gephyroberyx orbicularis Smith, 1947 Smith, 1947 | synonym |
| Trachichthys darwinii Johnson, 1866 Johnson, 1866 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126401 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3FTQH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.