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); thionyi: Named for our colleague and dear friend Thiony Simon (1985–2016), who passed away during preparation of this article..
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 10 - 65 m (Ref. 129348). Tropical
Southwest Atlantic: Brazil.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.4 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 129348)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 16; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 14 - 15; Vertebrae: 28. This species is distinguished by the following set characters: anterior nostril is a short tube with simple cirrus on posterior rim; maxilla rigid, not produced as a thin flexible lamina posteriorly; no supramaxilla; subopercle with a broad, fan-like flap; vomer with one tooth; pale buccal area surrounding esophageal opening; body with 45-52 oblique body scale rows in longitudinal series; vertebrae 10 + 18; spinous dorsal fin with black blotch, when present, between spines 2-5. Colouration: body with five poorly defined irregular bands and sides sometimes with diagonal rows of pale spots smaller than eye diameter; when present, a black blotch in spinous dorsal fin between spines 2-5; buccal area surrounding esophageal opening pale. Also easily distinguished from its congeners by the divergence in the mitochondrial gene COI, as specimens form a monophyletic group that differs from its closest relative (O. maxillosus) by an average of 9% (654 bp analyzed) (Ref. 129348).
Found solitarily, always in small constructed burrows on sandy rubble bottoms. It feeds on small benthic organisms that live near the bottom (e.g., small shrimps) (Ref. 128653).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Smith-Vaniz, W.F,, L. Tornabene and R.M. Macieira, 2018. Review of Brazilian jawfishes of the genus Opistognathus with descriptions of two new species (Teleostei, Opistognathidae). ZooKeys No. 794: 95-133. (Ref. 129348)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
