Species: Opistognathus macrognathus, Banded jawfish
oblong black spot - center spiny D
Opistognathus macrognathus Poey, 1860
Banded jawfish
Elongate, compressed, tapering body; large bulbous head; eye large, high; front nostril a short tube with a cirrus; mouth terminal, large, extends well to rear of eye; rear of top jaw ends in a thin flexible plate, slightly elongate in female, extending to top corner of operculum in male; front of roof of mouth with 1-2 blunt teeth; 31-43 gill rakers; fin spines flexible; dorsal and anal fins with long bases; dorsal X-XII, spines thin and flexible, 15-18; anal II-III, 15-16; pelvic fins I, 5, outer 2 rays stout and unbranched, inner 3 rays weaker and branched, outer soft ray not tightly bound to next ray, fin short, fin base before the pectoral; tail rounded, shorter than head, ~25% of SL; lateral line on front half of body only, high; scales small, smooth, none on head, body with 76-95 oblique scale rows.
Head and body tan; lower head and belly whitish, with a network of dark lines; body with a row of 5-6 large dark blotches along mid-side, another row on upper back extending onto base of dorsal fin; a prominent black spot on dorsal fin between spines III-VII, pectoral fin with numerous black speckles; gut opening inside mouth broadly surrounded with dark pigment except for an oblong pale bar below each tooth patch at upper rear of mouth; inner lining of top jaw and adjacent membranes of males with 2 brown stripes, 1 stripe in female.
Reaches 20 cm.
In burrows on sand and rubble bottoms.
Depth range: 0-44 m.
The Gulf of Mexico to the S Caribbean.
Note: closely related to both O. robinsi and to O. brasiliensis, which is endemic to Brazil.
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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- Sand & gravel
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Soft bottom only
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Brooded
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- Greater Caribbean endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- All species.
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent + Island (s)
- GC endemic
- Continent
- All species..
- Island (s)
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 20
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 44
