Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Ovalentaria/misc (Various families in series Ovalentaria) > Opistognathidae (Jawfishes)
Etymology: Opistognathus: Greek, opisthe = behind + Greek, gnathos = jaw (Ref. 45335); to the very elongate upper jaw of the type species of the genus, Opistognathus nigromarginatus (Ref. 128653).
More on authors: Jordan & Thompson.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 40 m (Ref. 9710), usually 3 - 40 m (Ref. 27115). Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 27115); 32°N - 23°S, 100°W - 29°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Central Atlantic: southern Florida, USA and Bahamas to Barbados and northern South America.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 10.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 16; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 14 - 15. Body light bluish gray with numerous pale blue dots; head, nape and anterior part of dorsal fin yellow; a pair of black spots often present on chin (Ref. 13442).

Inhabit burrows made of crushed coral or sand. Hovers vertically, above or near its hole. The male courts the female by swimming in an arched position with his fins spread towards her (Ref. 9710). Male broods the eggs orally (Ref. 5521). Has been reared in captivity (Ref. 35427).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Mouthbrooders. Eggs which are clumped together in a sticky ball get incubated inside the male's mouth (Ref. 5521). Monogamous mating is observed irrespective of resource abundance (Ref. 52884).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 23 January 2012

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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Ecology
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Anatomy
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Physiology
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Visual pigment(s)
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Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.7 - 28, mean 27 °C (based on 402 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.0 ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Nutrients (Ref. 124155): Calcium = 127 [66, 225] mg/100g; Iron = 0.86 [0.51, 1.48] mg/100g; Protein = 17.9 [16.7, 19.0] %; Omega3 = 0.0953 [, ] g/100g; Selenium = 28.1 [12.6, 60.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 222 [67, 762] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.13 [1.39, 3.07] mg/100g (wet weight);

Opistognathus aurifrons (Jordan & Thompson, 1905)