Scourer
Ruvettus pretiosus Cocco, 1833
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.
Ruvettus pretiosus
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Open encyclopedia reference
Oilfish (Ruvettus pretiosus) are a species of snake mackerel with a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and temperate oceans. They can be found at depths from 100 to 800 metres (330 to 2,620 ft), but most often between 200 and 400 metres (660 and 1,310 ft). Oilfish can grow to a length of 3 metres (9.8 ft), though most do not exceed 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). It is the only known member of its genus.
Wikipedia contributors, Oilfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:30:22.506899+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ruvettus pretiosus Cocco, 1833
- Name authority
- Cocco, 1833
- Common name
- Scourer
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Scombriformes
- Family
- Gempylidae
- Genus
- Ruvettus
- 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
- orderScombriformes
- familyGempylidae Gill, 1862
- genusRuvettus Cocco, 1833
- speciesRuvettus pretiosus Cocco, 1833
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Rovetus temminckii Cantraine, 1833 Cantraine, 1833 | synonym |
| Ruvettus delagoensis Gilchrist & von Bonde, 1924 Gilchrist & von Bonde, 1924 | synonym |
| Ruvettus whakari Griffin, 1927 Griffin, 1927 | synonym |
| Thyrsites acanthoderma Lowe, 1839 Lowe, 1839 | synonym |
| Thyrsites scholaris Poey, 1854 Poey, 1854 | synonym |
| Ruvettus preciosus Cocco, 1833 Cocco, 1833 | synonym |
| Ruvettus tydemani Weber, 1913 Weber, 1913 | synonym |
| Tetragonurus simplex Lowe, 1834 Lowe, 1834 | synonym |
| Ruvettus pacificus Jordan & Jordan, 1922 Jordan & Jordan, 1922 | 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.
- Cocco, A. (1833). Cenni sul genere Ruvettus e sui caratteri che lo distinguono. L’Osservatore Peloritano, Messina, v. 8: 18. 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:4TTNW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.