Alfonsino (Beryx decadactylus)

Scientific name: Beryx decadactylus Cuvier, 1829

The Alfonsino (Beryx decadactylus) is a marine fish of the family Berycidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 4; Dorsal soft rays (total): 18-20; Anal spines: 4; Anal soft rays: 25 - 30. Body deep, compressed and has a large eye. Top of head, iris, back and all fins bright blood red. Orbital bones, cheeks and opercular bones shiny white. Breast shiny yellowish white. Body silvery with thin lengthwise lines.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Beryx decadactylus
Family: Berycidae (Alfonsinos)
Order: Beryciformes (Sawbellies)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 100.0
Common length: 35.0
Depth range: 110–1000 m (361–3281 ft)
Environment: Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 110 - 1000 m, usually 200 - 400 m
Climate: Deep-water
Distribution: Worldwide in temperate and tropical latitudes, except the eastern Pacific. Eastern Atlantic: Greenland, Iceland, and Norway to Western Sahara and South Africa, including western Mediterranean. Western Atlantic: south to Brazil. Also found in Argentine. Indo-Pacific: East Africa (including the Madascar Ridge and Saya de Malha Bank, ) to Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The limited number of records in the western Pacific is doubtless the result of limited fishing effort below 200 m.
Conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: commercial
Resilience: Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K = 0.11-0.16; tmax >11)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Last updated 27 September 2026