Castelnau's jawfish (Opistognathus castelnaui)

Scientific name: Opistognathus castelnaui Bleeker, 1860

Castelnau's jawfish (Opistognathus castelnaui)

The Castelnau's jawfish (Opistognathus castelnaui) is a marine fish of the family Opistognathidae. Native range: Indo-West Pacific, widespread including the Ryukyu Islands, South China Sea and Indonesia.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 14. This species is distinguished by the following characters: elongated supramaxilla and posterior end of maxilla produced as a thin flexible lamina; upper jaw's inner lining and adjacent membranes with one or two conspicuous black stripes; dorsal half of dorsal fin usually dark except for narrow pale margin, remainder of fin pale and often with 8 or 9 evenly spaced dark blotches that extend onto basal fourth to third of fin and slightly onto dorsum; D XI,14; body with about 90-11 0 oblique scale rows; total gill rakers 28-35.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Opistognathus castelnaui
Family
Opistognathidae (Jawfishes)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
25.0
Depth range
20–100 m (66–328 ft)
Environment
Marine; demersal; depth range 20 - 100 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indo-West Pacific: widespread including the Ryukyu Islands, South China Sea and Indonesia.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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