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Oplegnathus robinsoni Regan, 1916

Natal knifejaw
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Oplegnathus robinsoni   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Oplegnathus robinsoni (Natal knifejaw)
Oplegnathus robinsoni
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Centrarchiformes (Basses) > Oplegnathidae (Knifejaws)
Etymology: Oplegnathus: Greek, hoplon = weapon + Greek, gnathos = jaw (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: John Benjamin Romer Robinson (1869–1949) was a South African attorney and businessman. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Regan.

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

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 20 - 100 m (Ref. 4387). Subtropical

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

Western Indian Ocean: occurs only in Mozambique and Natal, South Africa.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4387); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9660)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 20 - 24; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 14 - 17. Adults dark grey in color; juveniles yellow with black bars (very similar to young Diplodus cervinus hottentotus.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occur in coastal rocky and coral reefs to a depth of 100 m; juveniles pelagic in currents (Ref. 4332). Benthic omnivores. May live longer than 10 years. Spawning occurs throughout the year (Ref. 57746). Marketed fresh (Ref. 9660).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Heemstra, P.C., 1986. Oplegnathidae. p. 632-633. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 4387)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 23.6 - 26.7, mean 25.8 °C (based on 16 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5156   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01995 (0.00906 - 0.04395), b=3.01 (2.83 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.2   ±0.42 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tmax > 10).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.