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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).
Eponymy: Dr Carter Rowell Gilbert (1930-2022) was an American zoologist and ichthyologist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated, usually 33 - ? m (Ref. 51183). Tropical
Western Central Atlantic: Bahamas, islands and reefs of the western Caribbean Sea, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 6.4 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5521)
Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 14; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 13 - 14. Females gray, shading to whitish ventrally on head and abdomen, with a median yellow stripe in dorsal and anal fins, and a large area of yellow in caudal fin. Males head and body reddish gray, darkening posteriorly to black, except abdomen which is whitish; caudal fin black except for a wedge-shaped white marking dorsally and ventrally at fin base; dorsal and anal fins white, the dorsal with a round black spot between fifth and sixth dorsal spines (Ref. 13442).
Inhabit steep slopes at the edges of banks (Ref. 5521). Mouthbrooders (Ref. 240).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Employ mouthbrooding to care for their young (Ref. 240).
Böhlke, J.E. and C.C.G. Chaplin, 1993. Fishes of the Bahamas and adjacent tropical waters. 2nd edition. University of Texas Press, Austin. (Ref. 5521)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 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): 3.4 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).