Highfin Threadsail, Hime diactithrix (Prokofiev 2008)

Hime diactithrix. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial

Summary:

A reddish-brown threadsail becoming silvery-white below, with 3-4 oblique blotched brown bands across the back, three rows of orange spots along the dorsal fin, an orange band along the anal fin, and the basal part of the pelvic fins red.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Hime diactithrix in Fishes of Australia, accessed 23 Jul 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/4911

Highfin Threadsail, Hime diactithrix (Prokofiev 2008)

More Info

Distribution	Northern Western Australia, SW of Shark Bay to SW of Scott Reef, in depths of 199-299 m. Elsewhere the species is known from Vietnam and Japan.
Features	Dorsal fin 14-17; Anal fin 8-10; Pectoral fin 12; Pelvic fin 9; Caudal fin viii + I + 9 + 8 + I = vii (viii–ix + I + 9 + 8 + I = vii–viii), Lateral line scales 38-45; Pyloric caecae 10-12; Gill rakers (lower) 13-15; Vertebrae 26-27 + 15-16 = 42. Length of insertion of dorsal fin significantly exceeding distance from its end to beginning of adipose fin; eye diameter greater than snout length' dorsal fin elevated anteriorly, with the second ray filamentous in males, and the last five rays elongated compared with the preceding rays.
Fisheries	Collected from fish markets in Vietnam.
Remarks	Other names used in Australia: Hime formosana [Australian Faunal Directory]; Hime sp. 4 [of G. Yearsley]; Aulopus sp. 4 [of G. Yearsley]; Aulopus sp. [in Sainsbury et al, 1985]
Etymology	The specific name diactithrix is from the Greek di (= two), actis (= ray), and thrix (= filament), in reference to the extremely elongated second dorsal-fin ray in males.
Species Citation	Aulopus diactithrix Prokofiev 2008, Journal of Ichthyology 48(1): 134, Fig. Type locality: Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Highfin Threadsail, Hime diactithrix (Prokofiev 2008)

References

Carpenter, K.E., Robertson, R., Matson, C. & Rivera Higueras, M. 2019. Hime diactithrix. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T123321449A123321794. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T123321449A123321794.en. Accessed on 16 July 2025.

Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 2022. Trawled fishes of southern Indonesia and northwestern Australia. 2nd ed. Self published: i-vii, 1-422. See ref online

Gomon, M.F. & Struthers, C.D. 2015. Three new fishes of the Indo-Pacific fish genus Hime (Aulopidae, Aulopiformes), all resembling the type species H. japonica (Günther 1877). Zootaxa 4044(3): 371-390.https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4044.3.3

Gomon, M.F., Struthers, C.D. & Stewart, A.L. 2013. A new genus and two new species of the Family Aulopidae (Aulopiformes), commonly referred to as aulopus, flagfins, sergeant bakers or threadsails, in Australasian waters. Species Diversity 18: 141–161.https://doi.org/10.12782/sd.18.2.141 (as Hime formosanus)

Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J. & Gates, J.E. 2006. Family AULOPIDAE, pp. 463-465 in Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & Allen, G.R. Fishes. in, Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp.(as Hime formosana)

Prokofiev, A.M. 2008. A new species of the genus Aulopus from the waters of Vietnam (Myctophiformes s. lato: Aulopidae). Journal of Ichthyology 48: 134–137. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945208010128

Prokofiev, A.M. 2012. Conspecificity of Aulopus formosanus and A. diactithrix (Aulopidae) and differences between the populations from Taiwan and Vietnam. Journal of Ichthyology 52: 412–416.https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945212040091

Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1984. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls. (as Aulopus sp.)