Species · accepted · checked 2026-08-05

Heterostichus rostratus

Giant kelpfish

WoRMS 281075ITIS 171476GBIF 5209305key worms:281075

2026-08-05: itis_id 171476 via WoRMS external link

Silhouette · Richard Harris · Public Domain Mark · PhyloPic, drawn from Meiacanthus grammistes

Giant kelpfish61 cm

bongo net ring71 cm

max · worms_attribute

Photograph of Heterostichus rostratus — Photo · Kjaergaard · CC BY-SA 4.0 · inat

The giant kelpfish is a 10–24 inches (25–61 cm) species of marine fish, and the largest member of the family Clinidae. It is currently the only known member of its genus.W CalCOFI holds 6 observations of it in 1 dataset between 1964 and 2014, as larva.R

6
observations: 6
records: 6
sampling events: 1964–2014
years: 1
datasets: larva
life stages

Observed in
i
One row per dataset, one cell per year, darker with more observations — the same strip the front door draws per dataset. Each row ends with the name that dataset uses (dataset_taxon); the accepted name is written once, in the title above. A quiet pill marks a name the authority does not accept.

Ichthyoplankton 6 obs · 6 events · 1964–2014 · larva
name used: Heterostichus rostratus Giant kelpfish · code 842

How big is it
i
Every mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Ways in
i
Read from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.

Explorer db-query

ERDDAPCalCOFI's own server, the Ichthyoplankton table constrained to this taxon

https://erddap.calcofi.io/erddap/tabledap/swfsc_ichthyo.html?&taxon_key=%22worms:281075%22

Heterostichus rostratus

How big is itiEvery mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Ways iniRead from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.

How big is it
i
Every mark is a measured length with its own source — hover one to read it. The reference objects are _data/size_reference.csv: two of them, the 505 µm bongo mesh and the net's ring, are CalCOFI's own sampling gear.

Ways in
i
Read from taxa.json of release v2026.09.11, written at release by calcofi4db::build_taxa_catalog(). The catalog's index is /species/.