Fun Jellynose Fish Facts For Kids

The jellynose fish, also known as the tadpole fish, is a small order of Ateleopodiformes, ray-finned fish of a monotypic species with a single-family Ateleopodidae. Currently, the fish has 12 species in four genera, but these fishes need taxonomic revision. The jellynose fish is deep water and bottom-dwelling marine fish found in the Caribbean Sea, eastern Atlantic, western and central Indo-Pacific, and the Pacific coast of Central America. They are true teleosts because of their cartilage skeletons, although they are not related to Chondrichthyes. They have a large head and bulbous nose with an elongated body. Their tail fins are small except for Guentherus, for whom it is fused with the anal fin, which has 70 rays or more.

For more relatable content, check out these catfish facts and ribbon eel facts.

What type of animal is a jellynose fish?

The jellynose fish is a fish of the order Ateleopodiformes of ray-finned fish with single-family Ateleopodidse with many deep-sea fish species in four genera.

What class of animal does a jellynose fish belong to?

The jellynose fish belongs to the Actinopterygii class of the single-family Ateleopodidae.

How many jellynose fish are there in the world?

The information about the population of the jellynose fish in the world is currently unavailable. It is believed that they are in abundance since they are found all around the world.

Where does a jellynose fish live?

The jellynose fish is a deep-sea fish found in the Caribbean Sea, eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Indo-Pacific area, and the Pacific coast.

What is a jellynose fish's habitat?

Jellynose fishes are deep-sea fish found in the benthopelagic zones in the demersal and marine environment. However, the jellynose fishes are not found in the abyssal depths since they still like a little warmer environment. Instead, they prefer to live on the continental slopes in tropical regions around the world.

Who do jellynose fish live with?

It is unknown whether jellynose fish prefer to live alone or in a group by forming schools with other fishes.

How long does a jellynose fish live?

The life span for jellynose fishes has not been recorded yet. It is unknown how long the fish lives.

How do they reproduce?

There isn't a lot of information present on the jellynose fish's reproduction cycle.

What is their conservation status?

The jellynose fish, of the family Ateleopodidae, has been declared as of Least Concern by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Since it is believed that the fish can be found all around the world, their population must be in abundance.

What do jellynose fish look like?

The jellynose fishes from the order Ateleopodiformes are deep water marine fish with large heads, a bulbous nose, and a long, elongated body that is tapered towards the end. Jellynose fish are brown or dark brown, or blackish in color. They have small caudal fins merged with long anal fins, and their pelvic fins are single rays (except for the species Guentherus), and their dorsal fins are very prominently placed just behind their head. However, their body skeletons are mostly cartilage and make them a true teleost, and they are not related to Chondrichthyes. These species have elongated bodies, sizes of which can vary a lot depending on a lot of factors.

How cute are they?

The jellynose fish is a very unique fish species and has a very different nose. You might find their bulbous and gelatinous nose cute.

How do they communicate?

It is yet unknown how the species establish communication with each other or other fish species due to very little information available on them.

How big is a jellynose fish?

The jellynose fish is a species that can be found in varying sizes but can grow a maximum of 6.6 ft (2 m) in length which is longer than the Pacific salmon.

How fast can a jellynose fish swim?

The speed of a jellynose fish swimming is not known, but it is known that the species uses self-propelling locomotion to change their location.

How much does a jellynose fish weigh?

The jellynose fish weighs about 99.2 lb (45 kg) which is about three times the size of Pacific cod.

What are the male and female names of the species?

The male and female jellynose fishes do not have any separate names.

What would you call a baby jellynose fish?

Just like all other baby fishes, the baby jellynose fishes are called fry.

What do they eat?

These gelatinous fish have small teeth and are believed to be bottom feeders and eat by sucking from the seafloor. The jellynose fish is known to feed on crustaceans and prawns.

Are they dangerous?

No, they are harmless to humans.

Would they make a good pet?

It is most likely that the jellynose fish might not make for a great pet, given its deepwater habitat.

Did you know...

Jellynose fish (order Ateleopodiformes) are even placed in another monotypic superorder - Adeleopodomorpha. They have also been placed in Lampriformes or Myctophiformes, which constitute additional superorders.

Fish like peacock bass and red-tail catfish are found in Brazil.

Why are they called jellynose fish?

Jellynose fish gets their name because of two reasons. First, their skeleton is made mostly of cartilage, giving them a gelatinous jelly-like look. And secondly, they have a bulbous nose, hence the name jellynose fish.

What is unusual about jellynose fish?

The jellynose fishes do not have a swim bladder, creating an issue with their buoyancy control since these swim bladders help fish swim. Fishes like sharks have a similar buoyancy issue. To cope with this, they have to use other methods to stop themselves from sinking. To help them with this, they have skeletons made of cartilage that are much less heavy and denser than bones. Also, their enormous livers are packed with fats and oils, keeping their density lower than the seawater.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these bonito fish facts and flounder facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable rainbow trout jumping out of water coloring pages.

*We've been unable to source an image of a jellynose fish and have used an image of a pufferfish instead as the main image. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of a jellynose fish, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].

Main image by Thomas Quine.

Second image by Brocken Inaglory.