Yellow jawfish (Opistognathus gilberti)

Scientific name: Opistognathus gilberti B?hlke, 1967

Yellow jawfish (Opistognathus gilberti)

The Yellow jawfish (Opistognathus gilberti) is a marine fish of the family Opistognathidae. Native range: Western Central Atlantic, Bahamas, islands and reefs of the western Caribbean Sea, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

Biology

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.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Opistognathus gilberti
Family
Opistognathidae (Jawfishes)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
6.4
Environment
Marine; reef-associated, usually 33 - ? m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Western Central Atlantic: Bahamas, islands and reefs of the western Caribbean Sea, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.
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.

Last updated