Oilfish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the oilfish lives – recorded in 7 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ruvettus pretiosus
Group	Bony fish
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	7 countries
Continents	Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Scombriformes
Family	Gempylidae

Where does the oilfish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the oilfish in 7 countries and territories across Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the oilfish endangered?

The oilfish’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the oilfish?

The oilfish (Ruvettus pretiosus) is a ray-finned fish in the order Scombriformes and the family Gempylidae, genus Ruvettus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the oilfish

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.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Oilfish (revision 1362635422), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q297007 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).