Species: Opistognathus gilberti, Yellow jawfish
head behind eye: 2 yellow bars
flank: yellow stripe
top jaw: expanded & square at rear
gill rakers 34-62
Opistognathus gilberti Bohlke, 1967
Yellow jawfish
Elongate, compressed, tapering body; large bulbous head; eye large, high; front nostril a short tube without a cirrus; mouth terminal, large, extends well to rear of eye; rear of top jaw straight, noticeably expanded and square; front of roof of mouth with teeth; gill rakers 34-62; fin spines flexible; dorsal and anal fins with long bases; dorsal fin XI, 12; anal II, 13-14; pelvic fins I, 5, outer 2 rays stout and unbranched, inner 3 rays weaker and branched, fin base before the pectoral, outer soft ray not tightly bound to next ray, fin short; tail rounded, shorter than head, 19-30% of SL; lateral line on front half of body only, high; scales small, smooth, none on head.
Female: head and body dark blue-grey; eye yellow; a yellow bar across top of head at rear of eyes; an large oblique yellow blotch on operculum; a yellow stripe along lateral line; dorsal and anal fins dark blue-grey, with a central yellow stripe; tail fin yellow, with a blue grey edge. Male: head and body blue-grey, darker at rear, underside of belly white; head with blue spots around mouth and under and behind eye, eye yellow, a yellow bar across top of head at rear of eyes, a yellow bar on operculum; inner lining of top jaw and adjacent membranes pale; dorsal, anal and pelvic fins whitish, dorsal fin with a conspicuous black spot on spines III-IV; tail fin black with a white border.
Reaches 7.5 cm.
In burrows on rubble bottoms on steep outer-reef slopes.
Depth range: 27-55 m.
The Bahamas to the central Caribbean.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom only
- Sand & gravel
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Bony fishes
- Data
- Egg Type
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- Brooded
- Pelagic larva
- Data
- Global Endemism
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- West Atlantic Endemic
- All species.
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- All species..
- Continent + Island (s)
- Continent
- GC endemic
- Island (s)
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 7.5
- Depth Range Min
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- 27
- Depth Range Max
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- 55
