''Acantholiparis opercularis'', or the spiny snailfish, is one of two species within the

snailfish The snailfishes or sea snails (not to be confused with invertebrate sea snails), are a family of marine ray-finned fishes. These fishes make up the Liparidae, a family classified within the order Scorpaeniformes. Widely distributed from the ...

genus ''

Acantholiparis ''Acantholiparis'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belongong to the family Liparidae, the snailfishes. These fishes are found in the northern Pacific Ocean. Species ''Acantholiparis'' currently contains two recognized species: * '' Acanth ...

''. The generic name comes from the Greek ''akantha'' meaning "thorn" and ''liparis'' meaning "fat". The specific name comes from the Latin ''opercularis'', meaning covered (as in a lid).

Size

''Acantholiparis opercularis'' is a small fish, with a length up to 7 cm.

Habitat

''Acantholiparis opercularis'' is a deep-water fish, known from depths between 227 m and 3600 m. It is a

demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They oc ...

, living just above the seabed.

Range

''Acantholiparis opercularis'' lives generally near the coast, over a wide range stretching as a crescent from

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and as far south as the coast of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2501624 opercularis Fish described in 1912 Fish of the Pacific Ocean Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert