Species: Opistognathus signatus, Dark spotted jawfish
D spines III-VII ocellus, rest dark + white spots
inside throat all dark
C black & white bars
top jaw ends in long, thin, flexible plate
Opistognathus signatus Smith-Vaniz, 1997
Dark spotted jawfish
Elongate, compressed, tapering body; large bulbous head; eye large, high; front nostril a short tube with a simple cirrus; mouth terminal, large, extends well to rear of eye; rear of top jaw ending in a thin flexible plate, slightly elongate in female, very elongate in male (extends beyond edge of operculum); front of roof of mouth with 1-2 large, blunt teeth; 28-34 gill rakers; fin spines flexible; dorsal and anal fins with long bases; dorsal X-XI, 16-17; anal II-III, 16-17; pelvic fins I, 5, outer 2 rays stout and unbranched, inner 3 rays weaker and branched, 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 57-70 oblique scale rows.
Head and body brown; a few scattered body scales heavily pigmented, forming isolated prominent dark spots; dorsal fin with a prominent large widely white-ringed ocellus between spines III-VII, rest of fin and anal fin dark, with numerous white spots; pectoral with pale speckles and spots; tail fin black, with 3 white bars; ear of inside mouth uniformly dark; inner lining of top jaw and adjacent membranes of adult males with 1 black stripe, females with no stripe or a brown stripe.
Reaches 8 cm.
Lives in burrows on sand and rubble bottoms.
Depth range: 27-68 m.
Nicaragua to Venezuela.
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 associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Bony fishes
- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Brooded
- Pelagic larva
- Data
- Global Endemism
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- All species.
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Caribbean endemic
- Continent
- GC endemic
- Continent only
- All species..
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- 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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- 8
- Depth Range Min
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- 27
- Depth Range Max
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- 68
