Sharpnose Duckbill, Bembrops filifer Gilbert 1905

Other Names: Sharpnosed Duckbill

Summary:

A duckbill with a black anterior half of the spinous dorsal fin with an elongate black first dorsal-fin spine, a submarginal black band along the second dorsal fin, a black spot on the upper caudal fin base, dark submarginal streak or bar on the dorsal caudal-fin lobe, and a series of 9-13 dusky blotches along the lower side. The species has a long, depressed, spatulate and concave snout.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2025, Bembrops filifer in Fishes of Australia, accessed 05 Jun 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/511

Sharpnose Duckbill, Bembrops filifer Gilbert 1905

More Info

Distribution	Off Carnarvon, Western Australia, to the Arafura Sea, Northern Territory, and east of McKay, Queensland. Elsewhere the species is known from the Chesterfield Islands (New Caledonia), Ryukyu Islands to southern Japan, and the Kyushu-Palau Ridge east to the Hawaiian Ridge and the Hawaiian Islands.
Features	Dorsal fin VI, 14-16; Anal fin 16-18; Pectoral fin 22-28; Lateral-line scales 60-69. Maxilla with well-developed tentacle at posterior tip; first dorsal-fin spine elongate in adults of both sexes; scales present dorsally and laterally before the eye; lateral line gradually descending.
Size
Colour	In preservative (from McKay 1971): Body with about 12 diffuse dark spots along lateral line extending 2-3 scales above and below the line. A series of about 9 faint dark spots longitudinally above lateral line, the first 2 of this series on the anterior part of the lateral line. Dorsal midline with about 12 faint dusky spots, those along the second dorsal fin situated at the base of the 2nd. 4th, 6th, 8th, 11 -12th and 14th rays. A dark spot present at upper base of caudal fin. Fins pale to dusky, the membrane between the first three dorsal spines dark. A small dark spot at the base of the humeral spines. (One specimen with well defined round spots in 2 to 3 series on sides.) Second dorsal with a submarginal black band; tip of caudal with a dark bar.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin filum (= thread) and fer (= to bear, to be carrying) in reference the extremely elongate first dorsal-fin spine.
Species Citation	Bembrops filifera Gilbert 1905, Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 23(2): 643, pl. 84. Type locality: Off northeastern coast of Maui Island, Hawaiian Islands, Albatross station 4080, depth 178-202 fathoms.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2025
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Sharpnose Duckbill, Bembrops filifer Gilbert 1905

References

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.

Das, M.K. & Nelson, J.S. 1996. Revision of the percophid genus Bembrops (Actinopterygii: Perciformes). Bulletin of Marine Science 59(1): 9-44 See ref online

Gilbert, C.H. 1905. The deep-sea fishes, in Jordan, D.S. & Evermann, B.W. The aquatic resources of the Hawaiian Islands. Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 23(2): 575-713 figs 230-276 pls 66-1014 https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.1262

Gloerfelt-Tarp, T. & Kailola, P.J. 2022. Trawled fishes of southern Indonesia and northwestern Australia. 2nd ed, i-vii, 1-422, Pls. 1-3. Self published. See ref online

Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293

Last, P.R., Pogonoski, J.J., Gledhill, D.C. White, W.T. & Walker, C.J. 2014. The deepwater demersal ichthyofauna of the western Coral Sea. Zootaxa 3887 (2): 191–224

McKay, R.J. 1971. Two new genera and five new species of percophidid fishes (Pisces : Percophididae) from Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 54(2): 40-46 figs 1-5 (described as Bembrops indica, type locality Indian Ocean off northwestern Australia) https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/171542

Nelson, J.S. 2001. Trichonotidae, Creediidae, Percophidae. pp. 3511-3516 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 6 pp. 3381-4218.

Okada, Y. & Suzuki, K. 1952. On two new bembroid fishes from the deep sea off Mie Prefecture with special reference in relation to hitherto known species. Report of the Faculty of Fisheries of the Prefectural University of Mie 1(2): 67-74 figs 1-3

Thompson, B.A. & Suttkus, R.D. 2002. A revision of Indo-Pacific Bembrops, family Percophidae (suborder Trachinoidei). Marine and Freshwater Research 53(2): 283-295. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF01124