The smallscale slimehead (Hoplostethus melanopus) is a deepwater fish of the family Trachichthyidae. It lives on the continental shelf at a depths of . It can reach sizes of up to TL. It is a brownish-grey color with blackish fins. It is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans along the coasts of South Africa, Somalia, the United Arab Emirates, Madagascar, Japan, Indonesia, and Namibia.