Melamphaes suborbitalis, or large-scaled with shoulder spine, is a small deep-sea fish of the large-scaled family. It lives in cold dark waters of the ocean at great depths and has large scales and a sharp spine on the shoulder.
The species differs from related large-scaled ones by a sharp pectoral spine and a special scale structure. It is important as part of the deep ocean food chain: it eats zooplankton and serves as food for larger fish.
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
birth time
Pelagic Ocean
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
marine pelagic
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
Shoulder spine count
adult
Maturity
marine benthic
About health
marine demersal
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
all seas and oceans
Trophic type
Filters
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Age (larva)
copepods
far from shore, deep water, large whales and sharks live here
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Scales count
Lifespan average
water is almost always cold, there may be ice in winter, not hot in summer
open water
Rapidly swallows prey or food items whole without chewing.
young after fast growth
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Shoulder spine size
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Cold sea
gulping
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
whole swallow
{name} jubilee
Eyes size
cm
zooplankton feeding, animal plankton — small crustaceans and larvae
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
mouth
turns
Rascals
Abyssal Ocean
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
pelagic zone — open water far from shore and seabed
Where are they found?
all seas and oceans
Species lacks any fixed or lasting shelter structure.
all rivers and lakes
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
age
birth date
Palearctic realm
no permanent shelter
Close
plankton
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
Marine world
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
Potential Habitat
marine bathypelagic
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Shoulder spine color
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
{name} birthday
No results found
very deep, dark and cold, strange fish live here
On the map
lunge
small crustaceans
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
sq mm
yr
benthic zone — the bottom of the open sea
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
zoo-plankton
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
from birth to death
Marine world
cyclops and other small copepod crustaceans
early young
Freshwater
Scales size
Duration
Fins color
saline marine habitat
This is me
Gamers
How are they built?
marine
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
Scales color
Asexual
swap
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
small crabs, amphipods and other crustaceans
the dark depths of the sea, below 1000 meters
Lifespan maximum
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Grape
8 to 11 grams, 1.5 – 8 centimeters
embryo
Length
kg
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
near-bottom water layer of the open sea
Observations
◉{N} more on tap