Spotted codlet

The Spotted codlet, Macclelland’s unicorn-cod, or unicorn cod, Bregmaceros mcclellandi, is a small deepwater codlet fish found in the west Indian Ocean to eastern Thailand, although as larval occurrence is widespread in the tropics it could also be found in the Pacific. It occurs from the surface to depths of 1.24 mi (2000 m), and its length is between 2.36 and 4.72 in (6 and 12 cm).

The spotted codlet is a small, elongated, cigar-shaped fish. The first dorsal fin is made up of a single elongated ray. The pelvic fin is made up of six separate rays the longest of which is almost half the body length of the fish. The second dorsal fin and the anal fin are mirror images of each other; the forward portion of each fin is high and triangular and is joined to the rounded hind part of the fin by a low bridge.

Its color is brownish with speckling above and silvery below. The cheek and lower head are also silver.

Illustration by Dr Tony Ayling