This is a widespread and generally common species, without any major threats. Therefore this species is listed as Least Concern.

This species is present in the east Atlantic from the British Isles to Mauritania, but there are only isolated specimens in Liberia and South Africa. In the west Atlantic, it is present in the USA up to 22°N, and from Brazil to Argentina. In the west Indian ocean, it is spread between 0° and 30°S. In the west Pacific, it is present between 6°N and 39°N, in New South Wales, in Australia (Paxton et al. 1989) and in New Zealand (Paulin et al. 1989).

It is also present in the Mediterranean Sea (FAO 1987): in the Adriatic Sea (Fabiano and Fabiano 1977, Dulcic 2001), strait of Sicily (Tortonese 1970, Bauchot 1987, Ragonese et al. 2001), along Algerian coasts, Sicilian and Galician districts (Maurin 1962, Costa 1991), north Tyrrhenian Sea (Sartor et al. 2001, Biagi et al. 2002), east Ionian Sea (Mytilineou et al. 2005), Aegean Sea (Sinis and Koukouras 1995, Papaconstantinou et al. 1997), Turkish sea and the east Mediterranean Sea (Kaya and Bilecenoglu 2000). It is a rare migrant in the Mediterranean Sea.


In the Eastern Atlantic, this species is found in the British Isles to Mauritania including western Mediterranean, but isolated specimens to Liberia and South Africa. In the Western Atlantic, it is reported from the USA to 22°N, and from Brazil to Argentina. In the Western Indian Ocean it can be found between 0° and 30°S, in the Western Pacific is has been reported between 6°N and 39°N, in New South Wales, Australia and New Zealand.

This is a common species.

This is a meso- and bathypelagic non-migratory species. It is found between 375 and 850 m during the day and between 90 and 850 m during the night (Hulley 1986). Its depth range from 500 to 1,100 m in the east Ionian Sea (Mytilineou et al. 2005). It reaches sexual maturity at a length of 4.8 cm.

This species is not commercially exploited. There are no known major threats.

This species is not commercially exploited.

No specific conservation measures are in place for this species. However, this species may be found in marine protected areas within its distribution range.