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Illustration of Pelagic armourhead
fishing forecast

pelagic armourhead

Pentaceros richardsoni · full profile

location

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period

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the species

everything about the pelagic armourhead

how to recognize it

Bluish head and back, with a pale underside, on a spindle-shaped body. The dorsal and anal fins have strong spines, characteristic of the family. Juveniles live near the surface and adults deeper, on the slope and shelf, where they are caught in trawl nets.

Also called: peixe-capacete-pelágico, capacete-pelágico, pelagic armourhead

We don't have tips on season, bait or technique for this species yet.

Where to look: Open sea, with juveniles near the surface and adults on the slope and shelf.

Lives in the open sea off southern South America: in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.

rules for the pelagic armourhead

Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.

We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.

how much it weighs without taking it out of the water

estimated weight

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how we calculate

Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01122, b = 3.04; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.

more about the pelagic armourhead

Fish of the family Pentacerotidae, spindle-shaped, reaching 56 cm. It lives in the open sea, in temperate southern waters, from the surface down to 1,000 m. Juveniles stay near the surface, and adults have been caught in trawl nets on the shelf and slope. It occurs in southern South America, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, and also in the southeast Atlantic, South Africa and Tristan da Cunha, in the western Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. For anglers, it has commercial use.

Family: Pentacerotidae · omnivore

fun facts

  • Can live up to 60 years.
sources and references (2)

Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.

  1. scientific FishBase: Pentaceros richardsoni (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
  2. scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Pentaceros richardsoniNames by country and language.