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 author: Poey.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 44 m (Ref. 26893). Tropical
Western Atlantic: southern Florida, USA and Bahamas to northern South America. Including Antilles but absent in Jamaica (Ref. 26938).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251)
Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 16 - 17; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 14 - 16. Black spot on upper half of dorsal fin from sixth or seventh to ninth spines. Males have long, upcurved extension of maxillary bone marked with black bands (Ref. 26938). Females appear to lack the long double-banded maxilla, and there is only a single blackish band at the corner of the mouth (Ref. 13442).
Inhabits sandy bottoms near coral reefs (Ref. 9710). Feeds on gastropods, crabs and fishes (Ref. 13628). Monogamous (Ref. 52884). Oviparous, mouthbrooding by males (Ref. 205).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Displays facultative monogamy where males are constrained to mate with a single female due to resource limitation (Ref. 52884). Males incubate the eggs in the mouth (Ref. 205).
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: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 25.3 - 28.1, mean 27 °C (based on 180 cells).
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): 3.6 ±0.6 se; based on diet studies.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 86 [47, 127] mg/100g; Iron = 0.652 [0.404, 1.063] mg/100g; Protein = 18.5 [17.5, 19.5] %; Omega3 = 0.0952 [, ] g/100g; Selenium = 34.8 [17.1, 65.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 97.3 [34.5, 269.5] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.63 [1.12, 2.23] mg/100g (wet weight);
