Softhead grenadier (Malacocephalus laevis)

Scientific name: Malacocephalus laevis Lowe, 1843

The Softhead grenadier (Malacocephalus laevis) is a marine fish of the family Macrouridae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 229; Anal spines: 0. Head uniformly scaled, including the mandibles and the ventral aspects of the snout and suborbital. Snout blunt, its tip with a conical tubercle. The trunk is short, the body tapers abruptly from behind the first dorsal fin. The caudal fin is absent.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Malacocephalus laevis
Family: Macrouridae (Grenadiers or rattails)
Order: Gadiformes (Cods)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 60.0
Common length: 40.0
Depth range: 200–1000 m (656–3281 ft)
Environment: Marine; bathydemersal; non-migratory; depth range 200 - 1000 m, usually 300 - 750 m
Climate: Deep-water
Distribution: Atlantic, Indian and Pacific: Western Atlantic: Strait of Florida to Brazil, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Eastern Atlantic: Iceland and Faroes to South Africa. Indian Ocean: Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, off Maldives and off East African coast. Western Pacific: Indonesian area and Australia. Eastern Central Pacific. Malacocephalus hawaiiensis, Malacocephalus luzonensis, and Malacocephalus nipponensis are closely related to Malacocephalus laevis and may eventually prove to represent populations of this species, if a comprehensive comparison of material from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans is done.
Conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: minor commercial
Resilience: Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

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

Last updated 27 September 2026